The Tales of the Son of Poseidon: The Titan's Curse
by Yugioash
Summary: Seems like a simple quest, help Grover save two half-bloods he found and keep them from joining Luke's army. Simple right? If you think that it's that simple you haven't been paying attention to the last two quest I been on, because rule number one about being a half-blood, nothing is ever that simple. Especially when there are now Hunters of Artemis involved.
1. We Face Trouble Right Away

**A/N:** Certain ancient Greek names matches words use of foul language but no foul language was intentionally used. Also if you haven't read them yet read 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Early Adventures' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief' and 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters' before reading this story. Lastly, any one who wants to do a Demigods and Olympian reads story using 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon' is allowed _as long as_ you inform me about it.

* * *

 **The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Titan's Curse**

 **We Face Trouble Right Away**

The Friday before winter break, my mom packed me an overnight bag with my thermos and a few deadly weapons and took me to a boarding school. We picked up my friends Annabeth and Thalia on the way.

It was an eight-hour drive from New York to Bar Harbor, Maine. Sleet and snow pounded the highway. I been in contact with Annabeth and Thalia the last few months, but tonight with the blizzard and the thought of what we were about to do, we were too nervous to talk much. Except for my mom. She talks _more_ when she's nervous. By the time we finally got to Westover Hall, it was getting dark, and she'd told Annabeth and Thalia every embarrassing baby story there was to tell about me. Of course they already heard of it before seven years ago, but it doesn't help.

Thalia wiped the fog off the car window and peered outside. "Oh, yeah. This'll be fun."

Westover Hall looked like an evil knight's castle. It was all black stone, with towers and slit windows and a big set of wooden double doors. It stood on a snowy cliff overlooking this big frosty forest on one side and the gray churning ocean on the other.

"Are you sure you don't want to wait?" my mother asked.

"No, thanks, Mom," I said. "I don't know how long it will take. We'll be okay."

"But how will you get back? I'm worried, Percy."

I hoped I wasn't blushing. It was bad enough I had to ask my mom to drive us here on an eight hour trip for a possible life-or-death battle bringing the emergency Lotus Cash Card in case we ran short on cash along the way.

"It's okay, Ms. Jackson." Annabeth smiled reassuringly. Her blond hair was tucked into a ski cap ad her gray eyes were the same color of the ocean. "We'll keep him out of trouble."

My mom seemed to relax a little. She thinks Annabeth has grown over the seven years into the most levelheaded demigod to ever hit the eighth grade. She's sure that whenever I started acting without thinking Annabeth kept me from getting killed. Although it hasn't happened as much as some might think, it does happen.

"All right, dears," my mom said. "Do you have everything you need?"

"Yes, Ms. Jackson," Thalia said. "Thanks for the ride."

"Extra sweaters? You have my cell phone number?"

"Mom—"

"And Paul's phone number just incase, right?"

"Mom—"

"Your ambrosia and nectar, Percy? And a golden drachma in case you need to contact camp?"

"Mom, seriously! We'll be fine," I said, and sighed. "I promise I'll contact you when we arrive at camp. See you _after_ the winter solstice."

That seemed to ease my mom's mind a little. "Okay, dear."

We got out of the car into an icy cold wind.

Once my mother's car was out of sight Thalia asked, "Whose Paul?"

"My mom's new boyfriend," I replied. "He's an English teacher at a high school. They met during a current and future writer convention at NYU. He's actually really cool but my mom and I agreed not to tell him about my _secret life_ until we know for sure if he can take the news."

"What about Tyson?" Annabeth asked.

Tyson was my baby cyclops half-brother that my mom and I adopted off the streets on my dad's request. Last summer, before Thalia was purged from tree back in our lives, Tyson left the forges.

"As far as Paul understands we adopted Tyson for my dad, and he's attending a school he got a scholarship in with an internship for those with his _special_ skills," I responded.

"I still can't get over the fact your mom adopted a cyclops," Thalia said. "I get he's not the same Cyclops as the one we faced in Brooklyn, but still—"

I shrugged. Before dad led Tyson to us if someone said that way about Tyson that way, I would agree. Now I experience it myself that that not all cyclops are like the Brooklyn Cyclops or worse Polyphemus, and that until someone see it for themselves, it will take time for anyone—especially a half-blood—to get use to Tyson.

"We better get inside," Annabeth said. "Grover will be waiting."

Thalia looked at the castle and shivered. "You're right. I wonder what he found here that made him send a distress call."

I stared up at the dark towers of Westover Hall. "Nothing good," I guessed.

…

The oak doors groaned open, and the three of us stepped into the entry hall in a swirl of snow.

All I could say was, "Whoa."

The place was huge. The walls were lined with battle flags and weapon displays: antique rifles, battle axes, and a bunch of other stuff that looked like something Ares' kids would collect in their cabin (I should know since my father's cabin neighbor's Ares cabin). I knew Westover was a military school and all, but the decorations seemed like overkill. Literally.

My hand went to my pocket, where I kept my lethal ballpoint pen, Riptide. I could already sense something wrong in this place. Something dangerous. Thalia was rubbing her silver bracelet, her favorite magical item. I knew we were thinking the same thing. A fight was coming.

Annabeth started to say, "I wonder where—"

The doors slammed behind us.

"Oo-kay," I mumbled. "Guess we'll stay a while."

I could hear music echoing from the other end of the hall. It sounded like dance music.

We stashed our overnight bags behind the pillar but not before I took out my own magical item—a celestial bronze thermos with a coating of fossilize sea shells inside so that when I focus my power into it, it can fire a jet of water as powerful as I want it to be. It was a gift from my father—Poseidon God of the sea—to help me with my first quest two years ago. However, last year I asked Beckendorf—son of god of forge Hephaestus—to modified the lid so I can just hook it on my belt so if I can carry it around even when I don't have my backpack.

I don't have to worry about people finding it odd that I carried a thermos around on my belt most of the time because since the thermos is made out of Celestial Bronze on the outside, the magical veil that covers up the mystical or magical items: the Mist, covers it up making it look like something else or the mortals don't even see it at all. If not I knew how to manipulate the Mist if needed.

Once my thermos was hooked to my belt and concealed we started down the hall. We hadn't gone very far when I heard footsteps on the stone floor, and a man and woman marched out of the shadows to intercept us.

They both had short gray hair ad black military style uniforms with red trim. The woman had a wispy mustache, and the guy had a clean shaven, which seemed backwards to me. They both walked stiffly, like they had broomsticks taped to their spine.

"Well?" the woman demanded. "What are you doing here?"

"Looks to me we have uninvited visitors! Which means you have to be _eee-jected_!"

He had an accent that almost sound French. He pronounced his _J_ like in _Jacques_. He was tall with a hawkish face. His nostrils flared when he spoke, which made it really hard not to stare up his nose, and his eyes were two different colors—one brown, one blue—like an alley cat's.

Unless we wanted to be thrown into the snow, I knew we need to manipulate the Mist to alter their memories.

Thalia must have thought the same thing, because she stepped forward and snapped her fingers. The sound was sharp and loud as a gust of wind rippled out of her hand across the room. It washed over all of us, making the banners rustle on the walls.

"Oh, but we're not visitors, sir," Thalia said. "We go to school here. Remember: I'm Thalia. And this is Annabeth and Percy. We're in the eighth grade."

The male teacher narrowed his two-colored eyes that gave me a shiver down my back. Judging from his expression he wasn't fooled by the Mist Manipulations. It occurred to either this guy is not what he seems, which I hope is not the case, or he is one of the few percentage of mortals that not only able to see through the Mist but wasn't affected by it.

See, despite the Olympians tried to cover up everything mystical to Mortals, there are few known cases of mortals who can see through the Mist and see stuff most mortals can't comprehend. Cause of it, these mortals aren't affected by all the powers of the Mist, including the alteration of memories. I know this because my mom is one of those mortals—it was one of the few things about her that caught my dad's attention. However, most of those mortals try to keep it to themselves since no one would believe them.

Fortunately the guy turned to his colleague. "Ms. Gottschalk, do you know these students?"

Despite the danger we were in, I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. A teacher named _Got Chalk_? He had to be kidding.

The woman blinked, like someone had just woken her up from a trance—like most mortals do when you use the Mist to change their memories. "I… yes. I believe I do, sir." She frowned at us. "Annabeth. Thalia. Percy. What are you doing away from the gymnasium?"

Before we could answer, I heard more footsteps, and Grover ran up, breathless. "You made it! You—"

He stopped short when he saw the teachers. "Oh, Mrs. Gottschalk. Dr. Thorn! I, uh—"

"What _is_ it, Mr. Underwood?" said the man. His tone made it clear that he detested Grover. "What do you mean, they made it? These students live here."

Grover swallowed. "Yes, sir. Of course, Dr. Thorn. I just meant, I'm glad they made… the punch for the dance! The punch is great. And they made it!"

I wanted to slap my forehead and groaned. Grover never was good at lying. In fact, the only reason he survived last summer on Polyphemus' island up until we saved him was because he used Polyphemus was blind and dumb enough to think Grover was a female Cyclops in a wedding dress with bad weaving skills and wearing a perfume that makes him smell like a satyr.

Luckily Mrs. Gottschalk said dreamily, "Yes, the punch is excellent. Now run along, all of you. You are not to leave the gymnasium again!"

We didn't wait to be told twice. We just left with a lot of "Yes, ma'ams" and "Yes, sirs" and a couple of salutes, just because it seemed like the right thing to do.

Grover hustled us down the hall in the direction of the music.

I could feel the teachers' eyes on my back, but I walked closely to Thalia. "Nice work with the Mist there."

"Thanks, Chiron taught it to me before letting me leave Camp with Annabeth," Thalia replied, "From what I heard you became quite a master on the Mist Manipulation yourself."

I tried to hide my embarrassment. Sure two years ago I used it to make Annabeth Grover and I look like victims of a an attack of psychotic old lady attacks, change our appearance so the authorities wouldn't catch us, and made the whole country think Ares kidnapped us and dragged us into a cross-country terrorist attack, not to mention last year I used the Mist over my previous school Meriwether into thinking I saved my classmates from a fire in the gymnasium, but saying that I'm a master of the power.

Still, I wasn't surprise Chiron taught Thalia how to manipulate the Mist. It's a handy skill for demigods, especially Thalia and me—children of two of the big three—who tend to attract the most monsters thus attracting the most trouble.

Grover hurried us to a door that had GYM written on the glass. Even with my dyslexia, I could read that much.

"That was close!" Grover said. "Thank the gods you got here!"

Annabeth and Thalia both hugged Grover. I gave him a big high five.

It was good to see him after so many months. He'd gotten a little taller and had sprouted a few more whiskers, but otherwise he looked like he always did when he passed for human—a red cap on his curly brown hair to hid his goat horns, baggy jeans and sneakers with fake feet to hide his furry legs and hooves. He was wearing a black T-shirt that took me a few seconds to read. It said WESTOVER HALL: GRUNT. I wasn't sure whether that was Grover rank or the school's motto.

"So what's the emergency?" I asked.

Grover took a deep breath. "I found two."

"Two half-bloods? Thalia asked, amazed. "Here?"

Grover nodded.

Finding one half-blood was rare enough. This year, Chiron had put the satyrs on emergency overtime and sent them all over the country, scouring schools from fourth through high school for possible recruits since that's the usual grade age where demigods start attracting monsters. These were desperate times. We were losing campers. We needed all the new fighters we could find. The problem was, there just weren't that many known demigods out there. If there was, they either aren't strong enough for even a satyr to find, or they been killed by a monster, or—at this point we feared—already been recruited by Kronos: the titan lord of time, and my friend Luke—who was the first to turn to Kronos.

"A brother and sister," he said, "They're ten and twelve. I don't know their parentage ,but they're strong. We're running out of time, though. I need help."

"Monsters?"

"One." Grover looked nervous. "He suspects. I don't think he's positive yet, but this is the last day of term. I'm sure he won't let them leave campus without finding out. It may be our last chance! Every time I try to get close to them, he's always there, blocking me. I don't know what to do!"

Grover looked at Thalia desperately. I was hurt at first. Grover use to look up to me. But I reminded myself that Thalia was the oldest here, and too be honest, after Thalia came back I looked up to her time to time. No matter what, Thalia was still the older-sister figure to Annabeth and me.

"Right," she said. "These half-bloods are at the dance?"

Grover nodded.

"Then let's dance," Thalia said. "Who's the monster?"

"Oh," Grover said, and looked around nervously. "You just met him. The vice principal, Dr. Thorn."

So much for a mortal that can see through the Mist.

…

Weird things about military schools: the kids go absolutely nuts when there's a special event and they get to be out of uniform. I guess it's because everything's so strict the rest of the time, they feel like they've got to overcompensate or something.

There were black and red balloons all over the gym floor, and guys were kicking them in each other's faces, or trying to strangle each other with the crepe-paper streamers taped to the walls.

Girls moved around in football huddles—my guess is the popular clique since they were wearing lots of makeup and spaghetti-strap tops and brightly colored pants and shoes that the daughters of Aphrodite—goddess of love and beauty—would wear in camp if Chiron allowed it.

Every once in a while they'd surround some poor guy like a pack of piranhas, shrieking and giggling, and when they finally moved on, the guy would have ribbons in his hair and a bunch of lipstick graffiti all over his face. Some of the older guys looked uncomfortable, hanging out at the edges of the gym and trying to hide, like any minute have to fight for their lives. They don't know how lucky they are that they don't really have to fight for their lives.

"There they are." Grover nodded toward a couple of younger kids arguing in the bleachers. "Bianca and Nico di Angelo."

The girl wore a floppy green cap, like she was trying to hide her face. The boy was obviously her little brother. They both had dark silky hair and olive skin, and they used their hands a lot as they talked. The boy was shuffling some kind of trading cards. His sister seemed to be scolding him about something. She kept looking around like she sensed something wrong.

Annabeth said, "Do they… I mean, have you told them?"

Grover shook his head. "You know how it is. That could put them in more danger. Once they realize who they are, their scent becomes stronger."

"Well, the girl—Bianca—she seem to sense something," I responded.

"Yeah, that's what worries me," Grover said, "Nico is still oblivious, but—"

"He's interested in the Greek stories even though he doesn't know they're real?" I asked.

Grover nodded.

Just then, the vice principal, Dr. Thorn, had slipped out of a doorway near the bleachers and was standing near the di Angelo siblings. He nodded coldly in our direction. His blue eye seemed to glow. I could tell he wasn't effected by the trick of the Mist. He suspected who we were. He just waiting to see why we were here."

"Don't look at the kids," Thalia ordered. "We have to wait for a chance to get them. We need to pretend we're not interested in them. Throw him off the scent."

"We could at least stay in groups of two," I said. "Grover and I can contact each other using our the Empathy link."

Last year Grover created an empathy link between me and him when he was captured by Polyphemus and after he was saved, I convinced him to keep the link and to teach me how to open it on my end so if I ran into trouble, I can contact him.

"Great. Then all we need to do is mingle. Act natural. Do some dancing. But keep an eye on the kids," Thalia said.

"Dancing?" Annabeth asked.

Thalia nodded. She cocked her ear to the music and made a face. "Ugh. Who chose the Jesse McCartney?"

Grover looked hurt. "I did."

"Oh my gods, Grover. That is so lame. Can't you play, like, Green Day or something?"

"Green who?"

"Never mind. Let's dance."

"But I can't dance!"

"You can if I'm leading" Thalia said. "Come on, goat boy."

Grover yelped as Thalia grabbed his hand and led him onto the dance floor.

Annabeth and I smiled. It was good to have Thalia back. However, unlike Thalia and Grover we were hanging back.

Annabeth had grown taller than me since last summer. She used to wear no jewelry except for her Camp Half-Blood bead necklace, but now she wore silver earrings shaped like owls—the symbol of her mother, Athena. She pulled off her ski cap, and her long blond hair tumbled down her shoulders. It made her look older.

"So…" I tried to think of something to say, "Design any good buildings lately."

Annabeth's eyes lit up, the way they always did when she talked about architecture. "Oh my gods, Percy. At my new school, I get to take 3-D design as an elective, and this cool computer program…"

She went on to explain how she'd design this huge monument that she wanted to build at Ground Zero in Manhattan. She talked about the structural supports ad facades and stuff, and I tried to listen. It sounded to me Annabeth found something that made her feel like a normal student, just as swim meets made me feel like one. I knew she wanted to be a super architect when she grew up—she loves math and historical buildings and all that.

Annabeth and Thalia attended an all girl boarding school in Brooklyn, and made arrangements with Annabeth's dad and Chiron that if needed, if there was an emergency they can either contact my mom since she and I were in Manhattan, or Chiron who was at Camp Half-Blood.

Meanwhile I attend MS-54 in Manhattan, which was better than Meriwether. The swim team there is pretty good, and I'm the best on my team.

"Yeah, uh, cool," I said. "So you're staying there the rest of the year, huh?"

Her face got dark. "Well, maybe, if I don't—"

"Hey!" Thalia called to us. She was slow dancing with Grover, who was tripping all over himself, kicking Thalia in the shins, and looking like he wanted to die.

"Dance, you guys!" Thalia ordered. "You look stupid just standing there."

I looked nervously at Annabeth, then at the groups of girls who were roaming the gym, searching for their next victim. Even if we weren't doing this to watch over the di Angelo kids, between the girl I practically grew up with and a group of girls who would hound me down and give me an unwanted makeover, I think I rather dance with Annabeth.

"So… um… do you want to dance? With me, I mean," I responded hoping I don't look as awkward and embarrassed as I feel.

"Sure…" Annabeth replied.

So we went to the dance floor. I placed one hand on Annabeth's hip, and she clasped my other hand like she was about to Judo throw me, and believe me, she could.

"Geez, Percy, relax. Have you been dancing at all since the Camp Prom?" Annabeth asked.

I didn't answer. Five years ago Camp Half-Blood hosted a prom with the centaurs—one of Aphrodite cabin's crazy ideas—to celebrate a year of not having to worry about monsters attacking the camp—which later came to be known as the Centaur prom due to the fact that the centaurs had more fun in it than the half-bloods. We had dance lessons and everything, but I never danced during it—I was more disturb that for some reason there were even male centaurs wearing prom dresses.

Even now, after attending a school without having to worry about bullies teasing a friend or brother of mine and getting a full reputation as a swim meet jock, I never actually danced with anyone.

We shuffled around for a few minutes. I tried to concentrate on the little things, like the crepe-paper streamer and the punch bowl—anything to try to calm me down, stop my hands from being sweaty.

"What were you saying earlier?" I asked. "Are you having trouble with your dad and stepmom again?"

Although Annabeth didn't talk much about it, I knew about her rough history with her dad and her stepmom.

At the end of last summer Annabeth and I finally arranged to have my mom and her dad and stepmom to pick us up at the same day, so they can meet each other, mostly so Annabeth's dad could meet the woman that housed Annabeth along with Thalia and Luke when they brought me home. It seemed to went off well, but there was still the lingering feeling that one misunderstanding will cause Annabeth to run away again.

Annabeth sighed. "My dad decided to move. Just when I was getting settled in New York, he took this stupid new job researching for World War I book. In _San Francisco_."

I sighed. "He does know Mount Tam is actually Mount Othrys home of the titans, right?"

"He doesn't care," Annabeth said.

"Well, until you decide, you know you are welcome at the Jackson Apartment," I responded.

Annabeth seemed to hesitate at that. "I… I probably should tell you something, Percy."

Suddenly she froze. "They're gone."

"What?"

I followed her gaze. The bleachers. The two half-blood kids, Bianca and Nico, were no longer there. The door next to the bleachers was wide open. Dr. Thorn was nowhere in sight.

"We have to get Thalia and Grover!" Annabeth looked around frantically. "Oh, where'd they dance off to?"

"Hold on!" I responded. I closed my eyes and focus on finding Grover. Grover told me as long as we're not too far apart, we can use the Empathy Link to contact each other without one another being asleep, but we won't have the visual link as we would when one of us is asleep.

 _Grover, if you hear me, Dr. Thorn, Nico, and Bianca are missing._

It took a while before: _Percy, I got your message. We noticed it too._

"They noticed it too," I responded.

"We better hurry," Annabeth said.

I nodded and told Grover who agreed. We headed out of the gym and searched for the di Angelo kids.


	2. The Hunters of Artemis Makes an Entrance

**A/N:** Certain ancient Greek names matches words use of foul language but no foul language was intentionally used. Also if you haven't read them yet read 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Early Adventures' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief' and 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters' before reading this story. Lastly, any one who wants to do a Demigods and Olympian reads story using 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon' is allowed _as long as_ you inform me about it.

* * *

 **The Hunters of Artemis Makes an Entrance**

It didn't take long to find Dr. Thorn and the di Angelo kids. Dr. Thorn led the kids outside and had them stop at the cliff.

The four of us hid—well, except for Annabeth who decided to use her cap of invisibility to get close to the kids. Meanwhile we decided to wait back for the opening to attack and wait for the attack.

"Stop talking!" Dr. Thorn said. "Face me!"

The kids turned to him.

Dr. Thorn pulled something from under his coat. I couldn't make it out, but I think it's a phone. He pressed the side button and said something.

"What did he say?" I asked Grover since he had a keen sense of hearing.

Grover quivered. "The package—it is ready to deliver."

Dr. Thorn started talking loud enough Grover didn't need to tell us: "Don't try to escape, or else I would have to kill you."

Then Dr. Thorn cloack flickered and something that look like a knife whip back Bianca's head.

"Unfortunately, you are wanted alive, if possible. Otherwise you would be already be dead."

"Who wants us?" Bianca demanded. "Because if you think you'll get a ransom, you're wrong. We don't have any family. Nico and I…" Her voice broke a little. "We've got no one but each other."

"Aww," Dr. Thorn said. "Don't worry. You will be meeting my employer soon enough. Then you will have a brand new family. The General will enlighten you with the rest."

"General?" I asked.

Thorn looked toward the horizon. "Ah, here we are. Your transportation.

Sure enough there was a search light in the distance over the sea. We heard the chopping helicopter blades getting louder and closer.

"Where are you taking us?" Nico said.

"You should be honored, my boy. You will have the opportunity to join a great army! Just like that silly game you play with cards and dolls."

"They're not dolls! They're figurines! And you can take your great army and—"

"Now, now," Dr. Thorn warned. "You will change your mind about joining us, boy. And if you do not, well… there are other uses for half-bloods. We have many monstrous mouths to feed. The Great Stirring of monsters is on the way. The worst of them, the most powerful, are now walking. Monsters that have not been seen in thousands of years. They will cause death and destruction the likes of which mortals have never known. And soon we shall have the most important monster of all—the one that shall bring about the downfall of Olympus.

"You're completely nuts!" Bianca yelled.

An invisible force known as Annabeth slammed into them, knocking the di Angelo's into the ground. Dr. Thorn was so shock he fired a volley of knife like missles at them and missed them.

"Let's go!" Thalia ordered.

I nodded and uncapped Riptide.

"Aegis!" Thalia yelled tapping her bracelet letting it expand into a large shield with a carving of Medusa's head on it. She also took out a Mace canister and transformed it into an electric spear.

Along with Grover, we ran into battle. Dr. Thorn winced and growl when he saw Aegis.

Thalia was the first to move in. "For Zeus!"

Thalia jabbed at Dr. Thorn's head, but he snarled and swatted the spear aside. His had changed into an orange paw with enormous claws that sparked against Thalia's shield as he slashed. If it wasn't for Aegis, Thalia would've been sliced like a loaf of bread. As it was, she manage to roll backward and land on her feet.

Dr. Thorn launched another volley of missiles at Thalia, and this time I could see how he did it. He had a tail—a leathery, scorpion like tail that bristled with spikes at the tip. The missiles deflected off Aegis, but forced of their impact knocked Thalia down

Grover sprang forward. He put his reed pipes to his lips ad began to play—a frantic jig that sounded like something pirates would dance to. Grass broke through the snow. Within seconds, rope-thick weeds were wrapping around Dr. Thorn's legs, entangling him.

I used this moment to uncapped my thermos and aimed it on the ground. I focus my power into it, getting a familiar churning feeling in my stomach before a powerful blast like jet of water fired out of it, sending me into the air. It's actually one of the reasons why I waited for Grover to use his nature magic, and well—you know what happened.

However, before I could hit him Dr. Thorn roared and quickly change. He grew anger until he was in his true form—his face still human, but his body that of a huge lion. He quickly tore apart through the weeds and knocked me out of the way, receiving some claw marks down my arms and chest, missing vital points but still stung.

That's a down side about my aerial attack that Annabeth noted for me, all though it gives me a full force attack, it leaves me open since I can't move in mid-air. If it wasn't for the fact I only shoot myself in the air long enough to take down a monster, Zeus probably would of used it as an excuse to kill me.

"A manticore!" Annabeth said, now visible as her hat of invisibility fell off when she slammed into the di Angelo kids.

"Who _are_ you people?" Bianca di Angelo demanded. "And what is _that_?"

"A manticore?" Nico gasped. "He's got three thousand attack power and plus five to saving throws!"

Okay, I had no clue what that was about. Don't get me wrong, I know what a manticore is. But I _never_ heard it being described like that.

I didn't have the time to think as the Manticore fired another volley.

I quickly hit the button on my wrist watch. A four foot shield spiraled out just in time to take the full blunt of the attack. The force left a dent in the metal. The beautiful shield, a gift from my brother, was badly damaged. I wasn't sure it would even stop a second volley. I tried to get up, but I winced in pain from the claw marks on my chest and arms. It didn't help that my clothes were ripped from the claws as well.

I heard a _thwack_ and a yelp, and Grover landed next to me with a thud.

"Yield!" the monster roared.

"Never!" Thalia yelled from across the field. She charged the monster, and for a second, it seemed she would run him through. But there was a thunderous noise and a blaze of light behind us. The helicopter appeared out of the mist, hovering just beyond the cliffs. It was a sleek black military-style gunship, with attachments on the sides that looked like laser-guided rockets. The helicopter had to be manned by mortals, but what was it doing here? How could mortals be working for monsters? The searchlights blinded Thalia, and the manticore swatted her away with its tail. She landed next to me. Her shield flew off into the snow. Her spear flew in the other direction.

"That's enough!" I yelled. I wasn't sure how it was possible but I imagined my hurricane wall forming and with a churning of my stomach, the snow around us swirled into mini storm.

Dr. Thorn laughed. "Give up, hero! That won't protect you forever."

I was about to respond when I heard a clear, piercing sound: the call of a hunting horn blowing in the woods.

The manticore froze. For a moment, no one moved. There was only a swirl of snow and wind and the chopping of the helicopter blades.

"No," Dr. Thorn said. "It cannot be—"

His sentence was cut short when something shot past me like a streak of moonlight. A glowing silver arrow sprouted from Dr. Thorn's shoulder.

He staggered backward, wailing in agony.

Thorn then unleashed his spikes, dozens of them at once, into the woods where the arrow had come from, but just as fast, silvery arrows shot back in reply. Every arrow intercepted the thorns and sliced them in two. No one in camp could shoot that well, but there was one group I know that does.

The manticore pulled the arrow out of his shoulder with a howl of pain. His breathing was heavy.

I didn't let down my hurricane shield which is hard to do when my own clothes was ripped and I can feel the icy cold wind on my body.

Then the archers came from the woods. They were girls, about a dozen of them. The youngest was maybe ten. The oldest, about fourteen, like me. They wore silvery ski parkas and jeans, and they were all armed with bows. They advanced on the manticore with determined expression.

"The Hunters," Annabeth cried.

"Oh wonderful," Thalia muttered.

I don't blame her.

One of the older archers stepped forward with her bow drawn. I recognized her as the girl that both saved and sort of threatened my life seven years ago and saw her again three years ago when the hunters came to visit. She was tall and graceful with coppery colored skin. Unlike the other girls, she had a silver circlet braided into the top of her long dark hair, so looked like some of Persian princess. "Permission to kill, my lady?"

She kept her eyes on the manticore, but I had a strong feeling that I know who she was talking to.

The monster wailed. "This is not fair! Direct interference! It is against the Ancient Laws."

"Not so," another girl said. This girl looked a little younger than me, maybe twelve or thirteen. She had auburn hair gathered back in a ponytail and strange eyes, silvery yellow like the moon. Her face was so beautiful it made me catch my breath, but her expression was stern and dangerous. "The hunting of all wild beast is within my sphere. And you, foul creature, are a wild beast." She looked at the older girl with the circlet. "Zoë, permission granted."

The manticore growled. "If I cannot have these alive, I shall have them dead!"

He charged at the di Angelo kids who were the only ones who weren't trained for fighting monsters yet nor was protected by my Hurricane.

"No!" Annabeth yelled, as she charged at the monster.

"Get back, half-blood!" the girl with the circlet said. "Get out of the line of fire!"

But Annabeth leaped onto the monster's back in order to protect the di Angelos and drove her knife into his mane. The manticore howled, turning circles with his tail flailing as Annabeth hung on for dear life.

"Fire!" Zoë ordered.

"No!" I screamed. I wasn't worried about the hunters hitting Annabeth, I was worried that the Manticore would try to do with her on it.

But the Hunters let their arrows fly. The first caught the manticore in the neck. Another hit his chest. The manticore staggered backward, wailing, "This is not the end, Huntress! You shall pay!"

And before anyone could react, the monster, with Annabeth still on his back, leaped over the cliff and tumbled into the darkness.

"Annabeth!" I yelled.

I released the Hurricane and tried to run, but I realized the combination of coldness on my wounds and using my power affected me than I realize as I collapsed.

There was a _snap-snap-snap_ from the helicopter—the sound of gunfire.

Most of the Hunters scattered as tiny holes appeared in the snow at their feet, but the girl with auburn hair just looked up at the helicopter.

"Mortals," she announced, "are not allowed to witness my hunt."

She thrust her hand, and the helicopter dissolved into a flock of ravens, which scattered into the night.

The Hunters advanced on us.

Zoë, the leader who I had an unpleasant encounters in the past stopped short when she saw Thalia. "You," she said with distaste.

I forgot that Thalia and Luke encountered the hunters before I met Zoë.

"Zoë Nightshade." Thalia's voice trembled with anger. "Perfect timing, as usual."

Zoë scanned the rest of us. "Four half-bloods and a satyr, my lady."

"Yes," the younger girl said. "Some of Chiron's campers, I see."

I tried not to listen as I closed my eyes, trying to sense Annabeth. If she fell into the sea, maybe I can sense her. However, I couldn't sense Annabeth's presence.

The auburn girl turned toward me. "I'm sorry, Percy Jackson, but it seems the Manticore took your friend away."

I didn't want to admit it but she was right.

"Yes… Lady Artemis—" I reluctantly said.

* * *

 **A/N:** I know many of you probably not like me having the Manticore take off with Annabeth, and I'm sorry.


	3. Bianca di Angelo is Given a Choice

**A/N:** Certain ancient Greek names matches words use of foul language but no foul language was intentionally used. Also if you haven't read them yet read 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Early Adventures' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief' and 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters' before reading this story. Lastly, any one who wants to do a Demigods and Olympian reads story using 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon' is allowed _as long as_ you inform me about it.

* * *

 **Bianca di Angelo is Given a Choice**

The moment I referred to the girl as who she is—Artemis: Goddess of the Hunt—things got strange with Grover. He gasped, then knelt hastily in the snow ad started yammering, "Thank you, Lady Artemis! You're so… you're so… Wow!"

"Not again," I groaned as it wasn't the first time I seen Grover reacted differently around Artemis and her maiden hunters.

"Get up, goat boy!" Thalia snapped. "We have other things to worry about. Annabeth is gone!"

"Whoa," Bianca di Angelo said. "Hold up. Time out."

Everybody turned to her. She pointed her finger at all of us in turn, like she was trying to connect the dots. "Who… who are you people?"

Artemis' expression softened. "It might be a better question, my dear girl, to ask who are _you_? Who are your parents?"

Bianca glanced nervously at her brother, who was still staring at awe at Artemis.

"Our parents are dead," Bianca said, "We're orphans. There's a bank trust that pays for our school but…"

She faltered. I guess she could tell from our faces that we didn't believe her.

"What?" she demanded. "I'm telling the truth."

"You are a half-blood," Zoë Nightshade said with her ancient accent that sounded like something from a really old book, "One of thy parents was a mortal. The other was an Olympian."

"An Olympian… athlete?"

"No," Zoë said. "One of the gods."

"Cool!" said Nico.

"No!" Bianca's voice quavered. "This is not cool!"

Nico danced around like he needed to use the restroom. "Does Zeus really have lightning bolts that do six hundred damage? Does he get extra movements points for—"

"Nico, shut up!" Bianca put her hand to her face. "This is not your stupid Mythomagic game, okay? There are no gods.

I decided to speak up.

"You're half right," I responded, "First off, Nico, I understand why you compare Olympians to a card game, when I first found out my heritage I compared them to old children's movies and shows I use to watch, but the Olympians aren't like any mortal card game or movies made. They're more of like of Ancient Greek stories."

Thalia took it from there, "But they do exist, and when they visited the mortal world, most of them finds and fall in love with mortals and have kids who are half humans/half gods. However, because we're half gods, our lives are dangerous."

"Dangerous," Bianca said, "Like the girl who saved us and fell?"

Thalia turned away as I clenched my fist. Even Artemis looked pained. I remembered that Artemis is the patron goddess of young girls.

"Do not despair for Annabeth," the goddess said. "She was a brave maiden. If she can be found, I shall find her."

"Oo!" Nico raised his hand as if my words didn't dampen his spirit, "What about Dr. Thorn? That was awesome how you shot him with arrows! Is he dead?"

"He was a manticore," Artemis said. "Hopefully he is destroyed for now, but monsters never truly die. They reform over and over again, and they must be hunted whenever they reappear."

"Or they'll hunt us," Thalia said.

Bianca di Angelo shivered. "That explains… Nico, you remember last summer, those guys who tried to attack us in the alley in D.C.?"

"And that bus driver," Nico said. "The one with the ram's horns. I _told_ you that was real."

"That's why Grover has been watching you," I said. "To keep you safe, if you turned out to be half-bloods."

"Grover?" Bianca stared at him. "You're a demigod?"

"Well, a satyr, actually." He kicked off his shoes and displayed his goat hooves. I thought Bianca was going to faint right there.

"Grover, put your shoes back on," Thalia said. "You're freaking her out."

"Hey, my hooves are clean!"

"Bianca," I said, "we came here to help you. You and Nico need training to survive. Dr. Thorn won't be the last monster you meet. You need to come to camp."

"Camp?" she asked.

"Camp Half-Blood," I said. "It's where half-bloods learn to survive and stuff. You can join us, stay there year-round if you like."

"Sweet, let's go!" said Nico.

"Wait." Bianca shook her head. "I don't—"

"There _is_ another option," Zoë said.

"No, there isn't!" Thalia said.

Thalia and Zoë glared at each other.

"We burden these children enough," Artemis announced. "Zoë, we will rest here for a few hours. Raise the tents. Treat the wounded. Retrieve our guests' belongings from the school."

"Yes, my lady."

"What about me?" Nico asked.

Artemis considered the boy. "Perhaps you can show Grover how to play that card game you enjoyed. I'm sure Grover would be happy to entertain you for a while… as a favor to me?"

Grover just about tripped over himself getting up. "You bet! Come on, Nico!"

Nico ad Grover walked toward the woods, talking about hit points and armor ratings and a bunch of geeky stuff. Artemis led a confused-looking Bianca along the cliff. The Hunters began unpacking their knapsacks ad making camp.

Zoë gave Thalia one more evil look, then left to oversee things.

As soon as she was gone, Thalia stamped her foot in frustration. "The nerve of those Hunters! They think they're so… Argh!"

"I think most of the camp can agree with you there," I responded.

…

The Hunters set up their camping site in a matter of minutes. Seven large tents, all of silver silk, curved in a crescent around one side of a bonfire. One of the girls blew a silver dog whistle, and a dozen white wolves appeared out of the woods. They began circling the camp like guard dogs. The Hunters walked among them and fed them treats, completely unafraid. Falcons watched us from the trees, their eyes flashing in the firelight, and I got the feeling they were on guard duty too. Even the weather seemed to bend to the goddess's will. The air was still cold, but the wind die down and the snow stopped falling, so it was almost pleasant sitting by the fire.

Even with my rip up clothes, the bonfire warmed me up, but it didn't stop me from grieving. Annabeth jumped on the Manticore's back to save the di Angelo kids while the most I could do was summon a hurricane to protect Grover Thalia and myself.

Once I was warm enough that I was sure I wasn't going to die of Hypothermia, I manage to walk over where Annabeth had plowed into Bianca and Nico and searched through the snow until I found what I was looking for: Annabeth's New York Yankees baseball cap.

What had Annabeth wanted to tell me in the gym? _Something serious_ , she said.

I watched Thalia pacing in the snow at the edge of camp, walking among the wolves without fear. She stopped and looked back at Westover Hall, which was now completely dark, looming on the hillside beyond the woods.

Seven years ago, Thalia had been turned into a pine tree by her father, to prevent her from dying. She'd stood her ground against an army of monsters on top of Half-Blood Hill in order to give Luke Annabeth and me time to escape. She's only been back as human for a few months now, but once in a while she would stand so motionless you'd think she was still a tree.

Finally, one of the Hunters brought me my backpack. Grover and Nico came back from their walk. Grover treated my injuries.

Nico rummaged through his own bag, which the Hunters had apparently packed for him—probably using the Mist to be unseen. Nico laid out a bunch of figurines in the snow—little battle replicas of Greek gods and heroes. I recognized Zeus with a lightning bolt, Ares with a spear, Apollo with his sun chariot.

"Big collection," I said.

Nico grinned. "I've got almost all of them, plus their holographic cards! Well, except for a few really rare ones."

"You've been playing this game a long time?"

"Just this year. Before that…" He knit his eyebrows."

"What?" I asked.

"I forget. That's weird."

He looked unsettled.

"Hey, what I said earlier about the Olympians not being about the card game," I said.

"I get it, they're not the same," Nico said, "Grover explained to me what you meant."

"Well, that's good, but what I'm trying to say, if playing the game makes you feel like a normal child, even after what you experience tonight, don't let the fact that everything in the Greek stories isn't like the game stop you from playing it," I responded.

Nico smiled hearing it. "Thanks. Hey, can I see that sword you were using?"

I showed him Riptide and explained how it turned from a pen to a sword just by uncapping it, how I loose it it returns to my pocket, and if I cap the handle it turns into a writable pen—although I don't use it in front of mortals since in order to use it for a writing utensil, I would need to have it transform into sword form.

"Whose your Olympian parent?" Nico asked.

"Poseidon, god of the sea," I responded.

"Can you surf really well, then?"

Grover looked like he was trying not to laugh.

"I don't know, I never tried surfing—but I am on a swim team at my school," I replied.

He went on asking questions. Did I fight a lot with Thalia, since she was a daughter of Zeus? (That took some time explaining). Was Annabeth my girlfriend? (I don't think I been this red since a naiad asked Annabeth and me the same question). If Annabeth's mother was Athena, the goddess of wisdom, then why didn't Annabeth know better than fall off a cliff? (I tried not to strangle Nico for asking that one. Seriously she saved the kid).

That was when Zoë Nightshade came up to us.

"Percy Jackson."

I stood up straight and say, "Yes, ma'am." As much as the Hunters annoy me, I knew better than giving them any reason to kill me. As expected she studied me distastefully, like I was a bag of dirty laundry she'd been sent to fetch.

"Come with me," she said. "Lady Artemis wishes to speak with thee."

…

Zoë led me to the last tent, which looked no different from the others, and waved me inside. Bianca di Angelo was seated next to Artemis—still in her young girl form.

I never been inside Artemis cabin—it was like a death sentence for male campers if they did. But if I had to guess what it looked like, it would at least be similar to the interior of this tent.

The inside of the tent was warm and comfortable. Silk rugs and pillows covered the floor. In the center, a golden brazier of fire seemed to burn without fuel or smoke. Behind the goddess, on a polish oak display stand, was her huge silver bow, carved to resemble gazelle horns. The walls were hung with animal pelts: black bear, tiger, and several others I didn't recognize. She had a live deer with glittering fur and silver horns, its head resting contentedly in Artemis' lap.

"Join us, Percy Jackson," the goddess said.

I sat across from her on the tent floor. The goddess studied me carefully. I seen Artemis in adult form before—during winter solstice meetings whenever the Olympians were deciding whether to end my life or not. Artemis been one of the few who wanted to wait and see.

Zoë sat down at Artemis' right. She glared at me as if I was about to do something she didn't like.

"It is very rare that we would have boys in this camp. Boys are usually forbidden to have any contact with the Hunters. It is especially unheard of for a boy to come across one of my hunters twice and not be turned into a Jackalope," Artemis said.

I gulped.

"At any rate, Percy, I've asked you here to tell me your story. Bianca has reported some of the… mmm, disturbing things the monster said. I had hopes that maybe your group had heard the conversation as well since she may not understand them. And since Zoë here and Thalia never been able to get along, I decided to ask you."

I nodded so I told her.

When I was done, Artemis put her hand thoughtfully on her silver bow. "I fear this was the answer."

Zoë sat forward. "The scent, my lady?"

"Yes."

"What scent?" I asked.

"Things are stirring that I have not hunted in millennia," Artemis murmured. "Prey so old I have nearly forgotten."

She stared at me intently. "We came here tonight sensing the manticore, but he was not the one I seek. Tell me again, exactly what Dr. Thorn said."

"He mention somebody called a General," I responded.

Zoë face paled. She turned to Artemis and started to say something, but Artemis raised her hand. "Go on, Percy," the goddess said.

"He also said something called the Great Stirring," I said.

"He also said, 'Soon we shall have the most important monster of all—the one that shall bring about the downfall of Olympus,'" Bianca responded.

The goddess was so still she could've been a statue. "I've been too slow to see the signs. I must hunt this monster."

Zoë looked like she was trying very hard not to be afraid, but she nodded. "We will leave right away, my lady."

"No, Zoë. I must do this alone."

"But, Artemis—"

"This task is too dangerous even for the Hunters. You know where I must start my search. You cannot go there with me."

"As… as you wish, my lady."

"I will find this creature," Artemis vowed. "And I shall bring it back to Olympus by winter solstice. It will be all the proof I need to convince the Council of the Gods of how much danger we are in."

I tried to hide my smirk. It was no secret Zeus still keeping the manner of Kronos coming back a closed matter—thinking that if they ignore it Kronos will stop his stirring.

"You know what the monster is?" I asked.

Artemis gripped her bow. "Let us pray I am wrong. Before I go, Percy Jackson, I have a small task for you and your friends. I want you to escort the Hunters back to Camp Half-Blood. They can stay there in safety until I return."

 _"What?"_ Zoë blurted out. "But Artemis, we hate that place. The last time we stayed there—"

"Yes, I know, and I'm sure Percy here remembers," Artemis said. "I'm sure Dionysus will not hold a grudge just because of a little, ah, misunderstanding. It's your right to use Cabin Eight whenever you are in need. Besides, I hear they rebuilt the cabins you burned down."

Zoë muttered something about foolish campers.

"And now there is one last decision to make," Artemis turned to Bianca. "Have you made up your mind, my girl?"

Bianca hesitated. "I'm still thinking about it."

My eyes widened. "Wait, they asked you to join the hunt?"

Bianca nodded.

I couldn't believe I was hearing this. Sure I heard that the hunters are looked after Artemis, and they joined the hunt they get to stay at the age they were when they joined almost as if they were immortal except the can be killed. But They couldn't fallen in love, and they have to turn away from any boys—some even turn away from their own family.

"Bianca, camp isn't a bad place to live at either. I been there since I was seven!" I responded, "We got pegasus riding, sword fighting, archery, camp fires, volley ball pit, basketball court—everything a demigod needs to not only train but have fun."

"True, the camp also a has lot of things offers," Artemis said, "But it's up to Bianca. I won't push her into joining or go against her wishes."

"Can I have more time to think about it?" Bianca said.

Artemis smiled. "If that's what you wish. Just tell Zoë when you decide if I haven't return by then and she'll instruct you on the rest."

I didn't know how to feel about that, Bianca didn't turn down the offer, but she didn't accept it either. I guess it's a draw for now.

"So—how are we suppose to get to camp?" I asked.

Artemis closed her eyes. "Dawn in approaching. Zoë break camp. You must get to Long Island quickly and safely. I shall summon a ride from my brother."

Zoë didn't look real happy about this idea, but she nodded and left with Bianca following leaving me with Artemis

"We're getting a ride from Apollo?" I asked since Artemis mentioned dawn

Artemis' silver eyes gleamed. "Yes, boy. And I believe Apollo will be happy to meet you and Thalia in person—outside your camp's winter solstice visits."


	4. Thalia Torches New England

**A/N:** Certain ancient Greek names matches words use of foul language but no foul language was intentionally used. Also if you haven't read them yet read 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Early Adventures' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief' and 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters' before reading this story. Lastly, any one who wants to do a Demigods and Olympian reads story using 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon' is allowed _as long as_ you inform me about it.

* * *

 **Thalia Torches New England**

For your information, when a demigod says 'dawn is coming' it usually means 'Apollo's coming in his sun-chariot' which these days—like most Olympians chariots—take form of a vehicle of the owner's choice. Also Day lights savings and that is just some excuse Apollo made up so he can be _lazy_ certain time of year. At least, that's the demigods' story behind it. But don't think it means that Apollo is the laziest god on Olympus. He does take his domain serious, and if you anger him he will punish you.

Up on the hill, Westover Hall's windows were completely lightless. My guess is Artemis or one of her Hunters already used the Mist over the whole school to make it where if you ask about Bianca or Nico or Dr. Thorn, they would ask 'who?'

Thank gods I decided to put on my spare shirt over my ripped one so I wouldn't have to worry about finding a place to change because the Hunters broke camp broke camp as quickly as they set it up. But still I stood shivering in the snow (unlike the Hunters, who didn't seem to feel at all comfortable), and Artemis stared into the east, waiting for Apollo.

Thalia and Grover came up and huddle around me, anxious to hear what had happened in my audience with the goddess.

When I told them, Grover turned pale.

"I know man, but it was Artemis' request," I responded.

The last time the Hunters visit, they not only humiliate us and the camp in what was suppose to be a _friendly_ game of captured the flag, but Clarisse got so mad that she led a fight against the hunters which led to some of the cabins getting burned. Dionysus finally help put an end of it when his cabin was burned down with it. As much as Dionysus hate being camp director, he hated the idea the cabin built for him and his kids were burned down as well.

"At least Bianca decided not to join them," Thalia said smugly.

"Actually, Bianca said she hasn't decided," I responded.

"I don't know why," Grover said. "Eternity with Artemis—" he heaved a big sigh.

Thalia and I rolled our eyes. It was obvious that the satyrs loved Artemis because she's the closest thing to Nature and Wildlife that Pan once represent since his disappearance.

Finally the sky began to lighten. Artemis muttered, "About time. He's so-o-o lazy during the winter."

There was a sudden burst of light on the horizon. A blast of warmth.

"Don't look," Artemis advised. "Not until he parks."

I averted my eyes along with everyone else. The light and warmth intensified until it felt more like a hot summer. Then suddenly the light died.

I looked and I couldn't believe it. Apollo's chariot had taken form of a car I wanted. A red convertible Maserati Spyder. It was glowing from the heat it produced, which was hot enough that the snow around the Maserati in a perfect circle.

The driver got out and smiled. He looked about seventeen or eighteen. He had sandy hair and outdoorsy good looks. He looked almost like my friend gone rogue: Luke before he went on his quest and got his scar. The driver wore jeans and loafers and a sleeveless T-shirt.

Right away I knew this was Apollo, father of the campers of cabin seven and the father who brought Halcyon his curse for saving a girl's life when she was fated to die.

"Wow," Thalia muttered. "Apollo is hot."

"Little sister!" Apollo called. If his teeth were any brighter he could've blinded us without the sun car. "What's up? You never call. You never write. I was getting worried!"

Artemis sighed. "I'm fine, Apollo. And I'm not your _little_ sister."

"Hey, I was born first."

Actually, Artemis was born first and helped her mother Leto give birth to Apollo which is why Artemis is one of the goddesses of childbirth even though she's a virgin goddess. But Artemis didn't want to think of herself as the oldest since she and Apollo are twins, so Apollo takes the opportunity to tell people who would listen that he oldest.

"We're twins! How many millennia do we have to argue about—"

"So what's up?" he interrupted. "Got the girls with you, I see. You all need some tips on archery?"

Artemis grit her teeth. "I need a favor. I have some hunting to do, _alone_. I need you to take my companions to Camp Half-Blood."

"Sure, sis!" Then he raised his hands in a _stop everything_ gesture. "I feel a haiku coming on."

The hunters all groaned. I guess this was expected from the god of poetry—which Haiku is a form of poetry—but when he's like this I sometimes forget that he was the one that personally delivered Hal's curse and told him that his curse will end when Thalia retrieve Aegis and I retrieve Riptide that was locked up in Hal's apartment with Luke's help, which really meant that Hal will die once we did.

Apollo cleared his throat and held up one hand dramatically.

"Green grass breaks through snow.

Artemis pleads for my help.

I am so cool."

He grinned at us, waiting for applause.

"That last line was only four syllables," Artemis said.

Apollo frowned. "Was it?"

"Yes. What about _I am so big-headed_?"

"No, no, that's six syllables. Hmm." He started muttering to himself.

Zoë turned to us. "Lord Apollo has been going through this haiku phase ever since he visited Japan. 'Tis not as bad as the time he visited Limerick. If I'd had to hear one more poem that started with, _There once was a goddess from Sparta_ —"

"I got it!" Apollo announced. " _I am so awesome_. That's five syllables!" He bowed, looking very pleased with himself.

"And now, sis. Transportation for the Hunters, you say? Good timing. I was just about ready to roll."

"These demigods will also need a ride," Artemis said pointing to us. "Some of Chiron's campers."

"No problem!" Apollo checked us out. "Oh yes, Percy and Thalia, two of the three heroes that helped Halcyon out."

"Yes sir," I responded.

"Hi, Lord Apollo," Thalia greeted.

"Ah yes Zeus' daughter. I guess that makes you my half-sister that Hal predicted that you would be turned into a tree and turned back," Apollo said, "And Percy Jackson, one of the seven greatest demigods of his generations—if not of all time."

"How—" Thalia responded.

"There's no predictions my children can make that I cannot find out," Apollo replied.

"Brother," Artemis said. "You should get going."

"Oh right," Apollo said. "We'd better load up, huh? Ride only goes one way—west. And if you miss it, you miss it."

I couldn't help but look at the Maserati, which would seat two people max.

"Cool car," Nico said.

"Thanks, kid," Apollo said.

"But how will we all fit?"

"Oh." Apollo seemed to notice the problem for the first time. "Well, yeah. I hate to change out of sports-car mode, but I suppose…"

He took out his car keys and beeped the security alarm button. _Chirp, chirp_.

For a moment, the car glowed brightly again. When the glare died, the Maserati had been replaced by one of those Turtle Top shuttle buses like we used for school basketball games.

"Right," he said. "Everybody in."

Zoë ordered the Hunters to start loading. She picked up her camping pack, and Apollo said, "Here, sweetheart."

Zoë recoiled. Her eyes flashed murderously.

"Brother," Artemis chided. "You do not help my Hunters. You do not look at, talk to, or flirt with my Hunters. And you do _not_ call them sweetheart."

Apollo spread his hands. "Sorry. I forgot. Hey, sis, where are you off to, anyway?"

"Hunting," Artemis said. "It's none of your business."

"I'll find out. I see all. Know all."

Artemis snorted. "Just drop them off, Apollo. And no messing around!"

"No, no! I never messed around."

Artemis rolled her eyes, then looked at us. "I will see you by winter solstice. Zoë, you are in charge of the Hunters. Do well. Do as I would."

Zoë straightened. "Yes, my lady."

Artemis knelt and touched the ground as if looking for tracks. When she rose, she looked troubled. "So much danger. The beast must be found."

She sprinted toward the woods and melted into the snow and shadows.

Apollo turned and grinned, jangling the car keys on his fingers. "So." he said. "Who wants to drive?"

…

The Hunters piled into the van. They all crammed into the back so they'd be so far away as possible from Apollo and the rest of us highly infectious males. Bianca sat with us, since she haven't joined yet, while Nico was busy with something off.

"This is so cool!" Nico said, jumping up and down in the driver's seat. "Is this really the sun? I thought Helios and Selene were the sun and moon gods. How come sometimes it's them and sometimes it's you and Artemis?"

"Downsizing," Apollo said. "The Romans started it. They couldn't afford all those temple sacrifices with the gods born during their empire, so they laid off Helios and Selene and folded their duties into our job descriptions. My sis got the moon, and I got the sun. It was pretty annoying at first, but at least I got this cool car."

"But how does it work?" Nico asked. "I thought the sun was a big fiery ball of gas!"

Apollo chuckled and ruffled Nico's hair. "That rumor probably started because Artemis used to call me a big fiery ball of gas. Seriously, kid, it depends on whether you're talking astronomy and philosophy. You want to talk astronomy? Bah, what fun is that? You want to talk about how humans _think_ about the sun? Ah, now that's more interesting. They've got a lot riding on the sun… er, so to speak. It keeps them warm, grows their crops, powers engines, makes everything look, well, sunnier. This chariot is built out of human _dreams_ about the sun, kid. It's as old as Western Civilization. Every day, it drives across the sky from east to west, lighting up all those puny little mortal lives. The chariot is a manifestation of the sun's power, the way mortals perceive it. Make sense?"

Nico shook his head. "No."

"It's basically a powerful and really dangerous solar car that mortals perceived as a big ball of gas started by a rumor," I told him.

"Oh—can I drive?" Nico asked.

"No. Too young."

"Oo! Oo!" Grover raised his had.

"Mm, no," Apollo said. "Too furry." He looked past me and Bianca and focus on Thalia.

"Daughter of Zeus," he said. "Lord of the sky. Perfect."

"Oh, no." Thalia shook her head. "No, thanks."

"C'mon," Apollo said. "How old are you?"

Thalia hesitated. "I don't know."

It was sad, but true. She'd been turned into a tree when she was twelve, but that had been seven years ago. So she should be nineteen, if you went by years. But she still felt like she was twelve, and if you look at her, she seemed somewhere in between. What we could guess was she had kept aging while in tree form, but much more slowly.

Apollo tapped his finger on his lip. "You're fifteen, almost sixteen. I say in about a week."

"That's my birthday! December twenty-second."

"Which means you're old enough now to drive with a learner's permit!"

Thalia shifted her feet nervously. "Uh—"

"I know what you're going to say," Apolo said. "You don't deserve an honor like driving the sun chariot."

"That's not what I was going to say."

"Don't sweat it! Maine to Long Island is a really short trip, and don't worry about what happened to the last kid I trained. You're Zeus' daughter. He's not going to blast _you_ out of the sky."

Apollo laughed good-naturedly. The rest of us didn't join him. I was slightly worried for Thalia. This was unlike her.

Thalia tried to protest, but Apollo was absolutely not going to take "no" for an answer. He hit a button on the dashboard, and a sign popped up along the top of the windshield. I had to read it backward (which, for a dyslexic, really isn't that different than reading forward). I was pretty sure it said WARNING: STUDENT DRIVER.

"Take it away!" Apollo told Thalia. "You're gonna be a natural!"

…

If it wasn't for this sun car flying in the air in Zeus' domain, I would be jealous of Thalia right now. I couldn't wait to start driving. A couple of times that fall, my mom had taken me out to Montauk when the beach road was empty, and she'd let me try out her Mazda, which we got after my mom was brought back from Hades since our last car was destroyed by the Minotaur. But like I said before, this was a flying car, and I wasn't so keen in driving in Zeus' domain. Especially since the last person before Thalia who drove it _was_ blasted out of the sky.

"Speed equals heat," Apollo advised. "So start slowly, and make sure you've got good altitude before you really open her up."

Thalia gripped the wheel so tight her knuckles turned white. She looked like she was going to be sick.

"Thalia, are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah," Thalia said shakily. "I'm fine."

She pulled back on the wheel. It tilted, and the bus lurched upward so fast I fell back and crashed against something soft.

"Ow," Grover said.

"Sorry."

"Slower!" Apollo said.

"Sorry!" Thalia said. "I've got it under control!"

I manage to get to my feet. Looking out the window, I saw a smoking ring of trees from the clearing where we'd taken off.

"Thalia," I said, "You should lighten up on the accelerator."

"I'm okay, Percy. I've got it," Thalia said. But she kept it floored.

"At least relax," I suggested.

"I am relax!" Thalia was so stiff she looked like she was made out of plywood.

 _Is Thalia scared?_ I thought. I felt stupid for not recognizing it sooner. The last time I saw someone like that was Annabeth when we were trapped in Hephaestus' trap that was meant for Ares and Aphrodite.

"We need to veer south for Long Island," Apollo said. "Hang a left."

Thalia jerked the wheel again and threw me into Grover, who yelped.

"The other left," Apollo suggest.

I made the mistake of looking out the window again. We were at airplane height now—so high the sky was starting to look black.

"Ah…" Apollo said, and I got the feeling he was forcing himself to sound calm. "A little lower, sweetheart. Cape Cod is freezing over."

Maybe Apollo should have rephrased it better, or he didn't notice that Thalia was scared. Either way, when Thalia tilted the wheel, her face was chalk white, and her forehead beaded with sweat. She was definitely scared ad by this point, my guess was either heights or flying. Either one is unnatural for a daughter of Zeus, but right now I'm more worried what would happen at this point.

The bus pitched down and I didn't know who, but somebody screamed. Now we were heading straight toward the Atlantic Ocean at a thousand miles an hour, the New England coastline off to our right. And it was getting hot in the bus.

Apollo had been thrown somewhere in the back of the bus with the Hunter—who weren't too happy about it—but he started climbing up the rows of seats.

"Take the wheel!" Grover begged him.

"No worries," Apollo said. He looked plenty worried. "She just has to learn to—WHOA!"

I saw what he was seeing down bellow us was a little snow-covered New England town. At least, it used to be snow-covered. As I watched the snow melted off the trees church turned brown and started to smolder. Little plumes of smoke, like birthday candles, were popping up all over town. Trees and rooftops were catching fire.

"Pull up!" Bianca yelled as she and Nico were clinging onto each other for dear life.

There was a wild light in Thalia's eyes. She yanked back the wheel, and I held on this time. As we zoomed up, I could see through the back windows that the fires in the town were being snuffed out by the sudden blast of cold.

"There!" Apollo pointed. "Long Island, dead ahead. Let's slow down, dear. 'Dead' is only an expression."

Thalia was thundering toward the coastline of northern Long Island. There was Camp Half-Blood: the valley, the woods, the beach. I could see the dining pavilion and the cabins and amphitheater.

"I'm under control," Thalia muttered, "I'm under control."

We were only few hundred yards away now.

"Brake," Apollo said.

"I can do this."

"BRAKE!"

Thalia slammed her foot on the brake, and the sun bus pitched forward at forty-five degree angle, slamming into the Camp Half-Blood canoe lake with a huge _FLOOOOOSH!_ Steam billowed up, sending several frightened naiads scrambling out of the water with half-woven wicker baskets.

The bus bobbed to the surface, along with a couple of capsized, half melted canoes.

"Well," said Apollo with a brave smile. "You were right, my dear. You had everything under control! Let's go see if we boiled anyone important, shall we?"


	5. Beware of the Cavern of Darkness

**A/N:** Certain ancient Greek names matches words use of foul language but no foul language was intentionally used. Also if you haven't read them yet read 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Early Adventures' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief' and 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters' before reading this story. Lastly, any one who wants to do a Demigods and Olympian reads story using 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon' is allowed _as long as_ you inform me about it.

* * *

 **Beware of the Cavern of Darkness**

It been a long time since I'd seen Camp Half-Blood in winter. I use to be a full-year camper until I was trained enough that I felt safe enough to go home to my mom for the school year. However, it didn't seemed that things changed since I started going home for the school year.

See, during the summer spring and sometimes Autum, the camp has the ultimate magic climate control. Nothing gets inside the borders unless the gods, or in this case, Mr. D wants it to. But during the winter, if the gods feel generous for the winter holidays, they let it snow here so the campers that stay here for the school year either because they attract too much monsters or didn't have a home to come back too can have some winter time fun in the snow.

Frost covered the chariot race tracks and the strawberry fields. The cabins were decorated with tiny flickering lights, like Christmas lights, except they seemed to be balls of real fire. More lights glowed in the woods, and a fire flickered in the attic window of the Big House, where the Oracle dwelt, imprisoned in an old mummified body.

"Whoa," Nico said as he climbed off the bus with his sister Bianca. "Is that a climbing wall wall?"

"Yeah," I said.

"Why is there lava pouring down?" Bianca asked.

"Little extra challenge. Come on. I'll introduce you two to Chiron."

"Tell him we'll be in Cabin Eight," Zoë responded as coldly as ever, "Hunters, follow me."

"I'll show you the way," Grover offered.

"We know the way."

"Oh, really, it's no trouble. It's easy to get lost here, if you don't"—he tripped over a canoe and came up still talkin—"like my old daddy goat used to say! Come on!"

Zoë rolled her eyes, but I guess she figured there was no getting rid of Grover. The Hunters shouldered their packs and their bows and headed toward the cabins.

"I hope he doesn't get himself a black eye this time," I responded.

"They been here before?" Bianca asked.

"Three years ago"—I touched my fifth year bead with the silver arrow—"and Grover hasn't changed much since the last time they visit."

"Take care, sweethearts!" Apollo called after the Hunters. He winked at me. "Watch out for those prophecies before your destiny comes true, Percy. I'll see you soon."

"Wait, what?" I asked.

Instead of answering, he hopped back in the bus. "Later, Thalia," he called, "And, uh, be good!"

He gave her a wicked smile, as if he knew something she didn't. Then he closed the doors and revved the engine. I turned aside as the sun chariot took off in a blast of heat. When I looked back, the lake was steaming. A red Maserati soared over the woods, glowing brighter and climbing higher until it disappeared in a ray of sunlight.

"Who's Chiron?" Nico asked. "I don't have his figurine."

"Our activities director," I said. "He's… well, you and Bianca will see."

"Great…" Bianca responded.

…

Normally the camp isn't as crowded during the school year, but even I noticed some of the missing full-year campers. Another sign of even our own demigod campers joining Luke.

But other than that, I saw some of the usual year rounders. I spotted Charles Beckendorf from Hephaestus cabin stoking the forge outside the camp armory. The Stoll Brothers, Travis and Connor, from Hermes cabin, were picking the lock of the camp store—apparently Hermes' powers to manipulate locks is a rare gift that only few of his children inherited. A few kids from Ares cabin were having a snowball fight with the wood nymphs at the edge of the forest. That was about it. Only one I haven't seen was Clarisse, daughter of Ares and camp bully.

The Big House was decorated with strings of red and yellow fireballs that warmed the porch but didn't catch anything on fire. Inside, flames crackled in the hearth. The air smelled like Hot chocolate. Mr. D, the camp director, and Chiron were playing a quiet game of cards in the parlor.

Chiron's brown beard was shaggier for the winter. His curly hair had grown longer. He wore a fuzzy sweater with hoofprint design on it, and he had a blanket on his lap that almost hid his wheelchair that hid his horse half completely.

He smiled when he saw us. "Percy! Thalia! Ah, and this must—"

"Bianca and Nico di Angelo," I said. "They're both half-bloods."

Chiron breathed a sigh of relief. "You succeeded, then."

"Well…"

His smile melted. "What's wrong? And where is Annabeth?"

"Oh, dear," Mr. D said in a bored voice. "Not another one lost.

I'd been trying not to pay attention to Mr. D, but he was kind of hard to ignore with his neon orange leopard-skin warm-up suit and his purple running shoes. (Like Mr. D had ever run since he became immortal). A golden laurel wreath was tilted sideways on his curly black hair, which must've meant he'd won the last hand of cards.

"What do you mean?" Thalia asked. "Who else is lost?"

I answered for her, "It's Clarisse, isn't it?"

"Yes, unfortunately," Chiron replied. "She was on a secret quest for the camp when we lost contact with her."

Just then, Grover trotted into the room, grinning like crazy. He had a black eye ad red lines on his face that looked like slap marks. "The Hunters are all moved in!"

Chiron frowned. "The Hunters, eh? I see we have much to talk about." He glanced at Nico and Bianca. "Grover, perhaps you should talk our young friends to the den and show them our orientation film."

"But… Oh, right. Yes sir."

"Orientation film?" Nico asked excitedly.

"Um, Chiron, sir, I don't let Nico watch anything rated over G or PG," Bianca said.

"It's all right Bianca. The film is just something that will help clear things up for you," Chiron said. "And if you decide to join the hunters, I won't hold it against you."

Bianca reluctantly nodded as she and Nico and followed Grover out of the room.

"Now," Chiron said to Thalia and me, "perhaps you two should sit down and tell us the whole story."

When we were done, Chiron turned to Mr. D. "We should launch a search for Annabeth immediately."

"I'll go," Thalia and I said at the same time.

Mr. D sniffed. "Certainly not!"

Thalia and I started complaining, but Mr. D held up his hand. He had that purplish angry fire in his eyes that usually meant something bad and godly was going to happen if we didn't shut up.

"From what you have told me," Mr. D said, "we have broken even on this escapade. We have, have, ah, regrettably lost Annie Bell—"

"Annabeth," I snapped.

"Yes, yes," he said. "And you procured a small annoying boy and his sister to replace her. So I see no point risking further half-bloods on a ridiculous rescue. The possibility is very great that this Annie girl is dead."

I wanted to strangle Mr. D. It wasn't fair Zeus had sent him here to dry out as camp director for a hundred years. It was meant to be a punishment for Mr. D's bad behavior on Olympus, but it ended up being a punishment for all of us.

"Annabeth may be alive," Chiron said, but I could tell he was having trouble sounding upbeat. He'd practically raised Annabeth and me all those years the two of us was a year-round campers before I started going back to my mom for the school year and Annabeth given living with her dad and stepmom a second try. "She's very bright. If… if our enemies have her, she will try to play for time. She may even pretend to cooperate."

"That's right," Thalia said. "Luke would want her alive."

"In which case," said Mr. D, "I'm afraid she will have to be smart enough to escape on her own."

I got up from the table.

"Percy," Chiron warned.

"You really could care less about us," I said.

"What's your point, boy?" Mr. D glared at me.

"How about the fact that despite whatever bad history you have with Theseus and any other demigod you didn't get along with for whatever good or bad reason there is you were still once one of us? That _you_ of all Olympians should the risk of leaving a demigod on their own in enemies' hands!" I responded.

For a second, there was no sound except the crackle of the fire. The light reflected in Mr. D's eyes, giving him a sinister look. He opened his mouth to say something—probably a curse on me for opening my mouth—when Nico burst into the room, followed by Grover and Bianca who looked like they were trying to stop him.

"SO COOL!" Nico yelled holding his hands out to Chiron. "You're… you're a centaur!"

"I'm sorry, I tried to stop him!" Bianca apologized.

Chiron manage a nervous smile. "It's okay Miss di Angelo. Yes, Mr. di Angelo, if you please. Though, I prefer to stay in human form in this wheelchair for, ah first encounters."

"And, whoa!" He looked at Mr. D. "You're the wine dude? No way!"

Mr. D turned his eyes away from me and gave Nico a look a loathing. "The wine dude?"

"Dionysus, right? Oh, wow! I've got your figurine."

"My figurine."

"In my game, Mythomagic. And a holofoil card, too! And even though your card have only like five hundred attack points and everybody thinks yours is the lamest god card, I totally think your powers are sweet!"

"Ah." Mr. D seemed truly perplexed, which probably saved my life. "Well, that's… gratifying."

 _At least he stopped comparing the gods and monsters to his game,_ I thought.

"Percy," Chiron said quickly, "you and Thalia go down to the cabins. Inform the campers we'll be playing capture the flag tomorrow evening."

"Yes, sir!" I responded.

"Capture the flag?" Bianca asked.

"A friendly game we have in camp to help us prepare for any possible battle after we leave camp," I responded, "It's tradition that when the Hunters of Artemis visit we have campers vs. hunters game of it."

"I bet it's real friendly game against the Hunters," Thalia muttered.

Chiron jerked his head toward Mr. D, who was still frowning as Nico talked about defense points all the gods had in his game, trying hard not to compare Mr. D to his card. "Run along now," Chiron told us.

"Oh, right," Thalia said. "Come on, Percy."

She hauled me out of the Big House before Dionysus could remember what he wanted to kill me.

…

"Was it really necessary to anger Mr. D? Especially since you already have Ares on your bad side?" Thalia asked me as we trudged toward the cabins.

"Believe me, Mr. D and I been glaring at each other long before Ares had Annabeth Grover and I fetch his shield in one of Hephaestus' traps," I responded.

"Still it's not wise," Thalia responded. Although she was hiding it, our conversation with Chiron and Mr. D not only reminded us that Annabeth was gone but Luke had betrayed us.

"We will save Annabeth, and bring Luke back. I still got an ace up my sleeve that will hopefully bring Luke to his senses," I responded.

I was of course referring to a dream vision I had of what happened to Luke's mom when Luke was a baby. Last year, after having to relay the bad news to Thalia, I revealed it to her.

"You're right," Thalia straightened up. "We'll find a way to save Annabeth, and I'll help whatever way I can to make Luke see the truth."

Over at the basketball court, a few of the Hunters were shooting hoops. One of them was arguing with one of Ares' sons. He had his hand on his sword and the Hunger girl looked like she was going to exchange her basketball for a bow and arrow any second."

"I'll break it up," Thalia said. "You circulate around the cabins. Tell everybody about capture the flag tomorrow."

"All right, but who should be team captain?" I asked.

"You should," Thalia said, "You've been at camp longer than most of the campers here, and you already played a game against them." She pointed at my bead with the silver arrow.

"You sure?" I asked. "This game will be a good time to prove something to your dad."

"I'm sure," Thalia responded.

"All right, but if I'm taken out of the game, you're in charge," I responded.

Thalia smiled. "Fair enough."

She trudged off toward the court, where Ares camper and the Hunter were trying to kill each other with a sword and basketball.

The cabins were the weirdest collection of buildings you've ever seen. Zeus and Hera's big white-columned buildings, Cabins One and Two, stood in the middle, with five gods cabins on the left and four goddesses' cabins plus Dionysus' cabin on the right, so they all made a U around the central green and a Hearth that was meant to honor Hestia—one of the original twelfth Olympian who gave up her seat to Dionysus in order to keep peace in her family.

I made the rounds, telling everybody about capture the flag. I woke up some Ares' kid from his midday nap and he yelled at me to go away. I quickly told him and left him to return to his midday nap.

Finally I got to Cabin Three, the cabin of Poseidon, and my summer and if needed year round home ever since I was seven years old. It was a low gray building hewn from sea stone, with shells and coral fossils imprinted in the rock. Inside, it was mostly empty except for my stuff and my bunk. Even under my bunk wasn't as empty, as I kept Hal's book and a collection of sea dollars my dad been giving me for my birthday hidden in a loose floor board under it. I sometimes like to think Poseidon added that himself for me since most of the cabin was made out of sea stone.

I got under there and removed the floorboard revealing Hal's book. I took out Annabeth's hat of invisibility and put it in the space with it.

Once I got out from under my bed, I place my backpack on it and placed it on it and turned to a frame picture I had on my nightstand of Thalia Luke Annabeth and me seven years ago. We were one big happy family. Even when we came to camp and Luke and Annabeth had their half siblings, Thalia was a tree, and I was the only resident that will ever stay in this cabin, I just thought of us as a growing family. Which reminded me of the shield my brother made for me.

I also took off my wristwatch and activated the shield. It creaked noisily as it spiraled out. Dr. Thorn's spikes had dented the brass in a dozen places. One gash kept the shield from opening all the way, so it looked like a pizza with two slices missing. In the picture of me and Annabeth fighting the Hydra, it looked like a meteor had made a crater in my head. I hung the shield on its hook, but it was painful to look at now. I decided to ask Beckendorf if he can fix it at dinner.

I was staring at the shield when I noticed a strange sound—water gurgling—and I realized there was something new in the room. At the back of the cabin was a big basin of gray sea rock, with a spout like the head of a fish carved in stone. One of its mouth burst a stream of water, a saltwater spring that trickled into the pool. The water must've been hot, because it sent mist into the cold winter air like a sauna. It made the room feel warm and summery, fresh with the smell of the sea. On the bottom of the pool, coins shimmered—a dozen or so golden drachma.

I stepped up to the pool. There was no note attach or anything, but I knew it was a gift from my dad: Poseidon. He must have send it to me to remind me to keep in contact with my family.

I looked into the water and said, "Thanks, Dad."

The surface rippled as if responding.

I opened the nearest window, and the wintery sunlight made a rainbow in the mist. Then I fished a coin out of the water, which really didn't feel as hot as it looked.

"Iris, O Goddess of the Rainbow," I said, "accept my offering."

I tossed a coin into the mist and it disappeared. Then I realized I didn't know who to contact first. I could contact my mom, chances were she's not dating her new boyfriend yet but she might be at work.

I can't contact my dad. Poseidon made it clear when I was young, demigods can't just contact their godly parent using Iris message, but they can contact them through other needs. Then I made up my mind.

"Show me Tyson Jackson," I requested. "At the forges of the Cyclopes."

The mist shimmered, and the image of my half brother appeared. He was surrounded in fire, which didn't bother him since he was a Cyclops. He was bent over an anvil, hammering a red-hot sword blade. Sparks flew and flames swirled over his body. There was a marble-framed window behind him, and it looked out onto dark blue water—the bottom of the ocean.

"Tyson!" I yelled.

He didn't hear me at first because of the hammering and the roar of the flames.

"TYSON!"

He turned, and his one enormous eye widened. His face broke into a crooked yellow grin. "Percy!"

He dropped the sword and ran at me, trying to give me a hug. The vision blurred and I instinctively lurched back. "Tyson, it's an Iris-message. I'm not really here."

"Oh." He came back into view, looking embarrassed. "Oh, I knew that. Yes."

"How are you?" I asked. "How's the job?"

His eye lit up. "Love the job! Look!" He picked up the hot sword blade with his bare hands. "I made this!"

"That's really cool."

"I wrote my name on it. Right there."

"Awesome. Listen, do you talk to Dad much?"

Tyson's smile faded. "Not much. Daddy is busy. He is worried about the war."

"What do you mean?"

Tyson sighed. He stuck the sword blade out of the window, where it made a cloud of boiling bubbles. When Tyson brought it back in, the metal was cool. "Old sea spirits making trouble. Aigaios. Oceanus. Those guys."

I knew who he was talking about. Aigaios and Oceanus ruled the Oceans back in the days of the Titans. Before Olympians took over. I found it odd that they were causing trouble, considering during the Titan war, they didn't side with Kronos. If they were stirring up trouble now during the same time Kronos was stirring, things must be worse than I thought.

"Is there anything I can do?" I asked.

Tyson shook his head sadly. "We are arming the mermaids. They need a thousand more swords by tomorrow." He looked at his sword blade and sighed. "Old spirits are protecting the bad boat."

"The _Princess_ _Andromeda_?" I said. "Luke's boat?"

"Yes. They make it hard to find. Protect it from Daddy's storms. Otherwise he would smash it and stop Kronos if possible."

I didn't dare to respond. Smashing the boat would be good, but there were some demigods on it that were manipulated into helping Kronos using their old grudges.

"Annabeth! Is she there?" Tyson asked.

"Oh, well…" My heart felt like a bowling ball, Tyson thought Annabeth was just the coolest thing since peanut butter (and he seriously loved peanut butter). In a lot of ways Tyson reminded me of how Annabeth and I look up at Thalia and Luke. "Well, no… she's not here right now."

"Tell her hello!" He beamed. "Hello to Annabeth!"

"Okay." I fought back a lump in my throat. "I'll do that."

"And, Percy, don't worry about the bad boat. It is going away."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Panama Canal! Very far away."

My frown deepened. Why would Luke take his ship there? Something didn't seem right.

"All right," I said, not feeling reassured. "That's… good. I guess."

In the forges, a deep voice bellowed something I couldn't make out. Tyson flinched. "Got to get back to work! Boss will get mad. Good luck, Brother!"

"You two, big guy," I responded before the vision shimmered and faded. I was alone in my cabin.

…

I wish I can say dinner was exciting. The food was as good as ever, and the hearth kept us warm. But my mood was as miserable as ever and it didn't helped that I was once again alone in Poseidon's table Over at the Zeus' table Thalia sat alone as well. Every now and then I saw her looking at any of the seats next to her as if wishing someone was there.

At first I thought she was hoping for another sibling, but now my memory reminded me parts of Hal's predictions for Thalia that yet come true: _Your path will be sad and lonely. But someday you will find your family again._

I knew that over the first semester Thalia tried to make it come true by checking up with her mother, figuring that the lonely path was refer to years of being a tree. But not too long after she decided to contact her mother, she found out her mother died in a car accident while under the influence of alcohol.

Some part of me want to help Thalia fid her family that Hal mentioned. I have accepted all of Luke's and Annabeth's half-siblings as part of my family, it's only right I accepted Thalia's family member—whoever may it be—as part of my family as well. As for now we were on our own in our tables.

At least the Hephaestus, Ares, and Hermes cabins had a few people each. Nico and Bianca sat with the Stoll Brothers, since any new camper that hasn't been claimed yet always got stuck in Hermes cabin. Bianca was scolding the Stoll Brothers for trying to teach Nico poker.

The only table that really seemed to be having a good time was Artemis table. The Hunters drank and ate and laughed like one big happy family. Zoë sat at the head like she was the mama. She didn't laugh as much as the others, but she did smile from time to time. Her silver lieutenant's band glittered in the dark braids of her hair.

It was also around the time I felt as if something has grown heavy in my pocket. I reached in and took out my trusty sword-pen Riptide and frowned. The last time it felt heavy like that was about two years ago when I was looking at the mosaic of the twelve labors of Hercules.

When we finish eating, Chiron made the customary toast to the gods and formally welcomed the Hunters of Artemis. The clapping was pretty half hearted. Then he announced the "Good will" capture-the-flag game for tomorrow night, which got a lot better reception.

Afterward, we all trailed back to our cabins for an early, winter lights out. I was exhausted, which meant I fell asleep easily. That was the good part. The bad part was, I had another dream vision, and it wasn't what I expected.

…

Annabeth was on a dark hillside, shrouded in fog. It almost seemed like the Underworld, because I immediately felt claustrophobic and I couldn't see the sky above—just a close heavy darkness, as if I were in a cave.

Annabeth struggled up the hill. Old broken Greek columns of black marble were scattered around, as though something had blasted a huge building into ruins.

"Thorn!" Annabeth cried. "Where are you? Why did you bring me here?" She scrambled over a section of broken wall and came to the crest of the hill.

She gasped.

There was Luke. And he was in pain.

He was crumpled on the rocky ground, trying to rise. The blackness seemed to be thicker around him, fog swirling hungrily. His clothes were in tatters and his face was scratched and drenched with sweat.

"Annabeth!" he called. "Help me! Please!"

Annabeth ran forward.

Something about this didn't seemed right yet at the same time familiar. Like something from Hal's book.

Annabeth had tears in her eyes. She reached down like she wanted to touch Luke's face, but at the last second she hesitated.

"What happened?" she asked.

"They left me here," Luke groaned. "Please. It's killing me."

"Why should I trust you?" Annabeth asked. Her voice was filled with hurt.

"You shouldn't," Luke said. "I've been terrible to you and Percy. But if you don't help me I'll die."

If I were in Annabeth's shoes, I probably be deciding whether or not to help Luke or not.

Just then, the darkness above Luke began to crumble, like a cavern roof in an earthquake. Huge chunks of black rock began falling.

That's when it dawned to me, why this place was familiar and yet felt wrong. And if I'm right, this was another trap.

 _Annabeth don't!_ I wanted to scream but nothing came out, not that it would help if I'm right about what the cavern is.

Annabeth rushed in just as a crack appeared, and the whole ceiling dropped. She held it somehow—tons of rock. She kept it from collapsing on her and Luke just with her own strength which was a miracle considering the last person to do this—other than Luke, was strong enough to even subdue Cerberus with his bare hands, and Cerberus wasn't a small hellhound.

Luke rolled free, gasping. "Thanks," he managed.

"Help me hold it," Annabeth groaned.

Luke caught his breath. His face was covered in grime ad sweat. He rose unsteadily.

"I knew I could count on you." He began to walk away as the trembling blackness threatened to crush Annabeth.

"HELP ME!" she pleaded.

"Oh, don't worry," Luke said. "Your help is on the way. It's all part of the plan. In the meantime, try not to die."

The ceiling of darkness began to crumble again, pushing Annabeth against the ground.

...

I sat bolt upright in bed, clawing at the sheets. There was no sound in my cabin except the gurgle of saltwater spring. The clock on my nightstand read just after midnight.

I know one thing for certain, Annabeth was in trouble no thanks to Luke, and if nothing is done soon, Annabeth will die.

* * *

 **A/N:** I won't be able to update any stories the next few days so be patient and for those who haven't yet, take the time to read 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon  & the Early Adventures', 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief', and 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters'


	6. An Old Dead Friend Comes to Visit

**A/N:** Certain ancient Greek names matches words use of foul language but no foul language was intentionally used. Also if you haven't read them yet read 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Early Adventures' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief' and 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters' before reading this story. Lastly, any one who wants to do a Demigods and Olympian reads story using 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon' is allowed _as long as_ you inform me about it.

* * *

 **An Old Dead Friend Comes to Visit**

The next morning after breakfast I told Grover and Thalia about my dream. We sat in the meadow watching the satyrs chase wood nymphs through the snow. The nymphs had promised to kiss that satyr if they got caught, but they hardly ever did. Usually the nymph would let the satyr get a full head of steam, then she'd turned into a snow-covered tree and the poor satyr would slam into it head first and get a pile of snow dumped on him.

"I checked Hal's book out. The mountain fits the description of Mount Orythis," I responded.

"Percy, if you're right, that means the General is—" Thalia responded.

"I know," I responded. "And after what Tyson told me about the ancient ocean titans and gods stirring—it's definitely means something is going on.

"I agree," Grover said. "Especially after what Zoë dreamed—"

"What do you mean? Zoë had a dream vision too?" I asked.

"I… I don't know, exactly. About three in the morning she came to the Big House and demanded to talk to Chiron. She looked really panicked."

"How do you know this?" Thalia asked.

Grover blushed. "I was sort of camped outside Artemis cabin."

"Dude, I'm telling you this for your own good, stick to your dream of finding Pan, and stop stalking the hunters," I responded. "Now, why Zoë wanted to talk to Chiron?"

Grover blushed. "It was hard to tell. Something about Artemis being in trouble and needing the Hunters. She was talking to Argus at the time and she was speaking old fashion English. She even called Argus a boil-brained lout and a bunch of other things."

"Wait! What do you mean Artemis was in trouble?" Thalia asked.

"I'm not sure—finally Chiron came out in his pajamas and his horse tail in curlers and—"

"Dude! We don't need to know what Chiron wears when he goes to bed!" I responded, "What about Artemis?"

Grover turned slightly pink realizing his mistake. "Well, Zoë said she needed permission to leave camp immediately. Chiron refused. He reminded Zoë that the Hunters were supposed to stay here until they received orders from Artemis. And she said…" Grover gulped. "She said 'How are we to get orders from Artemis if Artemis is lost?'"

"Wait, you mean she was kidnapped?" Thalia asked.

Grover nodded reluctantly.

"By Kronos?"

Grover shrugged. "I don't know. But you have to admit it is kind of weird that Percy had a dream of Annabeth the same night Zoë had a dream of Artemis getting captured."

"Yeah, it is weird," I responded.

Over in the frozen meadow, a satyr skidded on his hooves as he chased after a redheaded tree nymph. She giggled and held out her arms as he ran toward her. _Pop!_ She turned into a Scotch pine and he kissed the trunk at top speed.

"Oh, love," Grover said dreamily.

I thought about Zoë's nightmare, which she'd had only a few hours after mine. I also kept in mind that Kronos' army was growing while ours was slowly shrinking. We need to team up with the Hunters, if we are to survive this war.

"There's one more thing I should tell you two," Thalia said, "I think the Hunters had been scouting Annabeth."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Annabeth didn't want me to say it, but they came to our school—after Annabeth found out about her dad's plans," Thalia said. "They tried to recruit her."

"And she denied them?" I asked.

Thalia shook her head. "Last she told me, Annabeth was still deciding, just like Bianca."

…

I would be lying if I said I took the news well, but I was in turmoil with the decision to strangle the Hunters or ask them to join the camp in the battle. Normally when I'm mixed up like this, I practice my swordsmanship, so that's what I did.

After hacking a straw dummy to nothing, I did felt calmer until I decided to visit the Pegasus stables only to find Silena Beauregard from Aphrodite cabin having an argument with one of the hunters.

Another problem of the idea of teaming up with the Hunters that I've forgotten. Hunters and Campers never been in _friendly_ terms with each other.

Chiron might agree with the idea, but it won't do us any good if the rest of the camp was against it. Plus I'm pretty sure we'll need Artemis to sign off on the idea.

I looked the other direction. At the top of Half-Blood Hill, Mr. D and Argus were feeding a baby dragon that guarded the golden fleece. I doubt those two would be any help.

Then it occurred to me: there might be something—or rather someone—who might have the answers, and she was at the attic of the Big House.

 _…_

 _I must be losing my mind if I think coming up here might help_ , as I climbed into the attic.

For five years, ever since I had a dream vision of the incident that led to Luke's mom losing her mind, I tried to avoid coming up here. Even after my quest for the master bolt, I didn't dare come up here, yet here I am.

The room was dark and dusty and cluttered with unwanted trophies. On one area of the room was a large tank with a decapitated arm from the Minotaur that tried to kill me two years ago.

Over by the window, sitting on a three-legged stool, was the shriveled up mummy of the Oracle.

I made myself walk toward to her, hoping for a response, but nothing.

I need to carefully think of what to ask without bringing up the great prophecy. I made an oath last year to Chiron that I wouldn't look further into the Great Prophecy without permission. Finally I decided to stick to the manners at hand.

"Oracle of Delphi. My friend Annabeth has been tricked to hold up the sky, and Lady Artemis has been kidnapped. I fear that the two might be related, and I want to help the Hunters get their goddess back along with my friend. What is my destiny?"

No answer. The sun slanted through the dirty attic window, lighting the dust motes dancing the air.

 _Maybe she wanted the full reason I'm here,_ I thought, _Well, if that was the case, better not knowing than losing my mind or worse finding out._

I turned and bumped into a big table full of souvenirs. It seemed more cluttered than the last time I was here.

Then I noticed a pink silk scarf with a label attached to it. I didn't need to pick up the tag to know where this scarf came from.

Two years ago, Annabeth had taken this from the Waterland water park when we went to fetch Ares' shield. I didn't think Annabeth kept it here the whole time.

I turned to the Oracle. She hadn't moved, but the shadows across her face made it look like she was smiling gruesomely.

I quickly decided I need to get out of here.

…

That night after dinner, I was seriously ready to defeat the Hunters at capture the flag. It was going to be a small game: twelve hunters against fourteen campers, including Aphrodite Cabin.

Zoë Nightshade looked pretty upset. She kept glancing resentfully at Chiron, like she couldn't believe he was making her do this. The other Hunters didn't look too happy, either. Some were even crying. I don't blame them, but we might as well get this out of the way.

After dinner we had the traditions of cabin leaders leading the game bringing in the flag. Since I was the only camper from Poseidon's Cabin, I asked Thalia to join me into bringing in our team flag, which was sea blue with a big Trident in the middle.

Zoë and her hunters brought in their silver flag with a bow and moon on it, but they weren't in the mood, but tradition was tradition.

On our team, we had Beckendorf and two other Hephaestus guys, a few from Ares cabin—minus Clarisse, the Stoll brothers and the di Angelo kids from Hermes cabin, and of course—since it was a game against the hunters—a few from Aphrodite.

"I'll show them 'love is worthless,'" Silena Beauregard grumbled as she strapped on her armor. "I'll pulverize them!"

That just leaves Thalia and me.

"What's the plan?" Thalia asked.

"We're going to split up in teams of five. One defense team of three, three attack teams of three and one team of two scouts," I responded. "The attack teams will use Attack plan Macedonia to divert the Hunters attention away from the flag so the Stoll Brothers act as scouts to find a way in to get the flag."

"You came up with that idea?" Thalia asked.

"Annabeth did, actually," I responded trying to sound upbeat. "It's normally effective with a large group, but that's why I'm taking the defense, and you're leading one of the attack forces."

Thalia seemed to like that idea. That's when Nico ran up to me with a big grin on his face.

"Percy, this is awesome!" His blue-feathered bronze helmet was falling in his eyes, and his breastplate was six sizes too big, which is typical for new demigods. Nico was armed with a sword while Bianca had a bow and arrow. One day in camp and it was obvious that Nico was better with a sword and Bianca was better with a bow and arrow.

Nico lifted his sword with effort. "Do we get to kill the other team?"

"No," I responded. "Listen Nico, you and Bianca are going to be helping me defend, and you'll have to listen to every command I give you, okay?"

"Right!" Nico responded.

Chiron's hoof thundered on the pavilion floor.

"Heroes!" he called. "You know the rules! The creek is the boundary line. Blue team—Camp Half-Blood—shall take the west woods. Hunters of Artemis—red team—shall take the east woods. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. No intentional maiming, please! All magic items are allowed. To your positions.

"Blue team! Follow me!" I yelled.

Everyone cheered, except for Ares kids who grunted. They won't be arguing after my battle plan.

…

We set our flag at the top of Zeus' Fist. It's a cluster of boulders in the middle of the west woods that, if you look at it just the right way, looks like a huge fist coming out of the ground. If you look at it from any other side, it looks like a pile of enormous deer droppings, but since it was named after Zeus Chiron wouldn't rename it.

Anyway, it was a good place to set the flag. The top boulder was twenty feet tall and really hard to climb, so the flag was clearly visible, like the rules said it didn't matter that the guards weren't allowed to stand within ten yards.

I set Bianca and Nico at the base of the mountain with me a few feet from it.

"Thalia, Beckendorf and Mark"—Ares son leading Cabin five in Clarisse's absent—"you three will be leading the attack force into an attack plan Macedonia," I responded. "Laurel and Jake, you're with Thalia. Silena, and Sherman, you're with Beckendorf, and Jason and Nyssa you're with Mark. Your jobs is to divert the fighting away from the flag Stoll Brothers you two will be scouts. If you find a spot where their defense is vulnerable either take it or alert someone. I'll be on defense with the di Angelos. Any questions?"

No one dared to ask. It was mixed up, but at the same time balanced. I basically divide the strong fighters, the runners, and long distant fighters three ways.

"Any word of advice Thalia?" I asked.

"Yeah, don't leave your post guys," Thalia said.

Everyone nodded. We broke into our smaller groups. The horn sounded and the game began.

The attack team went first followed by the Stoll brothers.

I decided to climb ten feet up Zeus' fist and had a good look of the game. I caught glimpse of Beckendorf's, Thalia's, and Mark's groups forcing the hunters to split up. I didn't see the Stoll Brothers, but that might be a good thing.

That's when I saw Zoë and two of her hunters breaking from the battle coming our way.

"Heads up! We have three hunters coming this way," I responded quickly climbing down, "Bianca climb up Zeus' fist to get a better aim. Nico back your sister up incase they get close."

They nodded and got into positions. I unclipped my thermos ready for anything.

Sure enough a series of arrows fired out toward me. I ducked and rolled out of the way. However when I did the arrows exploded and a cloud of yellow smoke billow around me leaving a scent of sulfer. I quickly started breathing in my mouth to void using my nose. Thank gods I got use to breathing through my mouth during those years with Smelly Gabe—especially during his poker game.

I uncapped my thermos, stretched my hand, and summoned a condense water blast in a form of a hand.

I heard a yelped before hearing something crashed into a tree.

Zoë and her strongest hunter Phoebe—a big beefy girl with ginger hair.

"You!" Zoë yelled, "How—"

"Creating a Hurricane isn't the only new trick I learned," I responded.

Phoebe was about to charge when then arrows shot from on Zeus' fist and landed next to her feet. She looked up to see Bianca and Nico on the pile of rock—Bianca having her bow ready to fire, and Nico trying to keep his sword and shield up.

I summoned another water blast hand from my Thermos. Phoebe and Zoë dodge it by jumping and rolling away. Zoë took out their bows and arrows and fired at me. I parried them away with my sword. Phoebe started climbing Zeus' fist as Nico tried to swipe at her, keeping her away but with no prevail. I tried to climb after Phoebe, but Zoë shot an arrow at my feet.

It looked like we were about to loose our flag when the conch horn blown, indicating the game was over.

The Stoll brothers came running in holding a blue flag with the symbols of Hermes. Since ours was on Zeus' fist, I knew it was the hunters, and judging from the arrows in their helmets, they had to fight for it.

"No!" Zoë yelled, "How is that possible?"

"Attack plan Macedonia," I responded. "Not only good for attacking the enemy at different sides, but distract the enemy from the goal."

Thalia and her attack teams came forward yelling and cheering in victory.

"Game over!" I could hear Chiron yell, "Camp Half-Blood wins!"

There was a loud cheer and howls again.

However, the cheering didn't last long as we noticed something approaching—or rather someone. It was shrouded in a murky green mist, but as it got closer, the campers and hunters gasped.

"This is impossible," Chiron said. I'd never heard him sound so nervous. "It… she has never left the attic. Not sense—"

Chiron stopped but my guess it had something to do to why the oracle was a mummy. And yet, the Oracle shuffled forward until she stood in the center of the group. Mist curled around our feet, turning the snow a sickly shade of green.

None of us dared to move. Then her voice hissed inside my head. Apparently everyone could hear it, because several clutched their hands over the ears.

 _I am the spirit of Delphi,_ the voice said. _Speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python._

The Oracle regarded me with its cold, dead eyes. Then she turned unmistakably toward Zoë Nightshade. _Approach, Seeker, and ask._

Zoë swallowed. "What must I do to help my goddess?"

The Oracle's mouth opened, and mist poured out. I saw a vague image of a mountain, and a girl standing at the barren peak. It was Artemis, but she was wrapped in chains, fettered to the rocks. She was kneeling, her hands raised as if to fend off an attacker, and it looked like she was in pain. The Oracle spoke:

 _Five shall go west to the Goddess in Chains,  
One will be claimed in land of no rain  
The Bane of Olympus shows the trail  
The Titan's curse one must prevail,  
One will be killed by their parent's hand,  
And a Hunters and Campers alliance shall stand,_

Then, as we were watching, the mist swirled and retreated like a great green serpent into the mummy's mouth. The Oracle sat down on a rock and became as still as if she might sit by this creek for a hundred years.


	7. Campers and Hunters are Chosen

**A/N:** Certain ancient Greek names matches words use of foul language but no foul language was intentionally used. Also if you haven't read them yet read 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Early Adventures' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief' and 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters' before reading this story. Lastly, any one who wants to do a Demigods and Olympian reads story using 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon' is allowed _as long as_ you inform me about it.

* * *

 **Campers and Hunters are Chosen**

The least the Oracle could've done was walk back to the attic by herself. But she didn't, so Grover and I volunteered to carry her back. Well, I did, I just drag Grover with me to make sure he doesn't stock on the Hunters.

"Watch her head!" Grover warned as we went up the stairs.

I carefully move the oracle around the trapdoor.

We hauled her up and set her on her tripod stool, both of us huffing and sweating. Who knew a mummy could weigh so much?

I assumed she wouldn't talk to me, and I was right, but something about the Oracle's last line told me that I got the answer I wanted without knowing it. Either way, I was relieved when we finally got out of there and slammed the attic door shut.

"Well," Grover said, "that was gross."

"Yeah, but I find it odd that it happened after we won the game," I responded, "You think Chiron will issue a quest for Zoë?"

"He has too," Grover responded, "I just wish—"

"What?" I asked.

He clopped his hooves uneasily. "Just something the manticore said, about the Great Stirring. I can't help but wonder… if all those ancient powers are waking up, maybe… maybe not all of them are evil… maybe Pan is waking them up as well."

"You'll find him, Grover," I responded.

Just then, Thalia came up the stairs. I could swear she was in a really good mood due to us winning the game despite the fact that the Oracle came to Zoë with a surprise prophecy.

"Percy, you're needed downstairs. Dionysus is calling a council of Cabin leaders to discuss the prophecy," she said.

…

The council was held around a Ping-Pong table in the rec room. Dionysus waved his hand and supplied snacks: Cheez Whiz, crackers, and several bottles of red wine. Then Chiron reminded him that the wine was against his restrictions and most of us were underage. Mr. D sighed. With a snap of his fingers the wine turned to Diet Coke. Nobody drank that either.

Mr. D and Chiron (in wheelchair form) sat at one end of the table. Zoë took the other end. Thalia Grover and I sat along the right, and the other head councilors—Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard, and the Stoll brothers—sat on the left. The Ares kids were supposed to send a representative, too, but all of them had gotten broken limbs (accidentally) during capture the flag, courtesy of the Hunters. They were resting up in the infirmary.

Zoë started the meeting off on the positive note. "This is pointless."

"Cheez Whiz!" Grover gasped. He began scooping up crackers and Ping-Pong balls and spraying them with topping.

"There is no time to talk," Zoë continued. "Our goddess needs us. The Hunters must leave immediately."

"And go where?" Chiron asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" I asked, "The oracle said west. _Five shall go west to the go west to the goddess in chains."_

"We can get five hunters and go," Zoë said. "Artemis is being held hostage! We must find her and free her."

"You're missing something, as usual," Thalia said, " _And a Hunters and Campers alliance shall stand_. Obviously Campers and Hunters need to work together in this quest."

"No!" Zoë said. "The Hunters do not need thy help."

 _"Your,"_ Thalia grumbled. "Nobody has said _thy_ in, like, three hundred years, Zoë. Get with the times."

Zoë hesitated, like she was trying to form the word correctly. " _Yerrr_. We do not need _yerrr_ help."

Thalia rolled her eyes. "Forget it."

"I fear the prophecy says you _do_ need our help," Chiron said. "Campers and Hunters cooperate."

"Or do they?" Mr. D mused, swirling his Diet Coke under his nose like it had a fine bouquet. "May I remind you that the Hunters and Campers ever could get along."

I decided to speak up. "But we need to save Artemis to stop whoever took her. I think even Zeus himself would agree that anyone powerful enough to kidnap an Olympian must be dealt with. And if that means making a temporary alliance between Campers and Hunters, we should consider it."

"I agree with Percy," Thalia said stubbornly. "I don't like the idea, but we can't fight against prophecies. If we do there will be dire consequences."

Zoë grimaced, but I could tell Thalia and I scored some points.

"We must delay," Chiron warned. "Today is Sunday. This very Friday, December twenty first is the winter solstice.'

"Oh, joy," Dionysus muttered. "Another dull annual meeting.

"Artemis must be present at the solstice," Zoë said. "She has been one of the most vocal on the council arguing for actions against Kronos' minions. If she is absent, the gods will decide nothing. We will lose another year of war preparations."

"Are you suggesting that the gods have trouble acting together, young lady?" Dionysus asked.

"Yes, Lord Dionysus."

Mr. D nodded. "Just checking. You're right, of course. Carry on."

"I must agree with Zoë," said Chiron. "Artemis' presence at the winter council is critical. We have only a week to find her. And possibly even more important: to locate the monster she was hunting. Now, we must decide who should go on the quest."

"I hate to say this, but one them has to be one of them has to be Bianca or Nico," I responded. " _One shall be claimed in the land without rain._ Bianca and Nico are the only campers present that hasn't been claimed. Who knows, maybe if one of them is claimed on the quest the other will as well."

"I'll allow Bianca to join. Her _brother_ can stay here," Zoë responded, "I won't have it any other way to find my lady

Bianca seemed to gulp at the idea.

"You'll be tracing the goddess' path," Chiron reminded her. "Moving quickly. No doubt Artemis tracked the scent of this rare monster, whatever it is, as she moved west. You will have to do the same. The prophecy was clear: _The Bane of Olympus shows the trail_."

Zoë picked up a Ping-Pong paddle and studied it like she was deciding who she wanted to whack first. "This monster—the bane of Olympus. I have hunted at Lady Artemis' side for many years, yet I have no idea what this might be."

Everyone looked at Dionysus, I guess because he was the only god present and gods are suppose to know things. He was flipping through a wine magazine, but when everyone got silent he glanced up. "Well, don't look at me. I'm a _young_ god, remember. I don't keep track of all those ancient monsters and dusty titans. They make for terrible party conversation."

I didn't argue with Mr. D, mostly because he had a point. Hestia had the twelfth Olympian seat during the Titan War. Dionysus wasn't even born as a demigod yet at the time.

"Chiron," I responded, "You been around since the Titan War, do you have any idea what the monster is?"

Chiron pursed his lips. "I have several ideas, none of them good. And none of them quite make sense. Typhon, for instance, could fit this description. He was truly a bane of Olympus. Or the sea monster Keto. But if either of these were stirring, we would know it. They are monsters the size of skyscrapers. Your father, Poseidon, would already have sounded the alarm. I fear this monster maybe more elusive. Perhaps even more powerful."

"That's some serious danger you're facing," Conor Stoll said.

 _"The Titan's Cures one must prevail,"_ Silena said. "What could that mean?"

I remembered my dream about Luke tricking Annabeth. If it was what I think, it could mean trouble.

I noticed I wasn't the only one thinking about that. Chiron and Zoë seemed to be sharing the same thought.

 _"One shall be killed by their parent's hand,"_ Grover said between bites of Cheez Whiz and Ping-Pong balls. "How is that possible? Whose parent would kill them?"

There was a heavy silence around the table. Thalia and I didn't dare look at each other.

Years ago, Chiron had a prophecy about the next child of the Big Three—Zeus, Poseidon, or Hades—will turn sixteen and either decide to save or destroy the gods forever. Because of that, the Big Three had taken an oath after World War II not to have any more kids. But Thalia and I had been born anyway, and now we were both getting close to sixteen and Kronos knows it. The previous two years Kronos had tried to force me to join him, and now, since Apollo confirmed that Thalia was closer to sixteen than me, it's obvious Kronos will try and influence her next. I doubt Zeus won't kill Thalia unless she proven to be a threat to Olympus.

"There will be a death," Chiron decided. "That much we know."

"Oh, goody!" Dionysus said.

Everyone looked at him. He glanced up innocently from the pages of _Wine Connoisseur_ Magazine. "Ah, pinot noir is making a comeback. Don't mind me."

"We should decide which campers should go with the Hunters," Silena said, "Other than Bianca, I mean."

"Oh, I see," Zoë said sarcastically. "And I suppose you wish to volunteer?"

Silena blushed. "I'm not going anywhere with the Hunters. Don't look at me!"

"A daughter of Aphrodite does not wish to be look at," Zoë scoffed. "What would thy mother say?"

Silena started to get out of her chair, but the Stoll brothers pulled her back.

"Stop it," Beckendorf said. He was a big guy with a bigger voice. He didn't talk much, but when he did, people tend to listen. "Let's start with the Hunters. Who should go?"

Zoë stood. I shall go, of course, and I will take Phoebe. She is our best tracker."

"The big girl who likes to hit people on the head?" Travis Stoll asked.

Zoë nodded.

"The one send me to the infirmary the last time we played?" Connor added.

"Yes," Zoë snapped. "Why?"

"Oh, nothing," Travis said. "Just we have a T-shirt for her from the camp store." He held up a big silver T-shirt that said ARTEMIS THE MOON GODDESS, FALL HUNTING TOUR 2002, with a huge list of national parks and stuff underneath. "It's a collector's item. She was admiring it. You want to give it to her?"

I knew the Stolls were up to something. They always were. But Zoë sighed and took the T-shirt. "As I was saying, I will take Phoebe, and since Bianca has yet to decide to join the hunters, I won't argue against her joining. Hopefully, after this quest, she will decide to join."

I'm not surprise about that.

"And for the campers?" Chiron asked. His eyes met mine, but I couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"Me!" Grover stood up so fast he bumped the Ping-Pong table. He brushed cracker crumbs and Ping-Pong ball scraps off his lap. "Anytime to help Artemis!"

Zoë wrinkled her nose. "I think not, satyr. You're not even a half-blood."

"But he _is_ a camper." Thalia said. "And he's got a satyr's senses and woodland magic. Can you play a tracker's song yet, Grover?"

"Absolutely!"

Zoë wavered and for a good reason. A tracker's song helps a satyr track anything down they can't find with their super sense of smell and hearing.

"Very well," Zoë said. "And the second camper?"

"I'll go." Thalia stood and looked around, daring anyone to question her, which no one did. Not even me.

As much as I wanted to go, I know Zoë wouldn't have chosen Grover if it wasn't for his tracking song due to him being a boy, and I doubt she would trade him for me. Still, I wasn't too happy since Annabeth was still missing and her life might be determined by this quest.

"So be it," Chiron said. "Thalia Grover and Bianca will accompany Zoë and Phoebe. You shall leave at first light. And may the gods"—he glanced at Dionysus—"present company included, we hope—be with you."

I had a feeing he had hopes that Thalia wouldn't go, but he didn't have much of a choice.

…

After dinner I decided to Iris-Message my mom. Chiron allowed me to stay until the winter solstice meeting, but had me contact her.

I rubbed the coin I got from the salt water and threw it into the a faint rainbow created from the light in the bathroom. "O goddess, accept my offering."

The mist shimmered.

"Show me Sally Jackson," I said. "Upper East Side Manhattan."

And there in the mist was a scene I expected. My mom was sitting at our kitchen table with her boyfriend: Paul Blofis. Paul was in his thirties with long salt-and-pepper hair and brown jacket over a black T-shirt. They were laughing hysterically. There was a big stack of textbooks between them. They were too busy laughing to notice my Iris-message. I doubt Paul would see it anyways.

"Sally, you're a riot. You want some more wine?" Paul asked.

"Ah, I shouldn't. You go ahead if you want."

"Actually, I better use your bathroom. May I?"

"Down the hall," she said, trying not to laugh.

Paul smiled and got up and left, which I'm a bit grateful for because I was about to end the message so they can continue their date in privacy.

"Mom!" I said.

She jumped so hard she almost knocked her textbooks off the table. Finally she focused on me. "Percy! Oh, honey! Is everything okay? What's wrong?"

She always knew when something was wrong. I told her about Annabeth disappearing and Artemis being kidnapped leading to this dangerous quest that Thalia and Grover was going on to help. I mention how I think the two were connected.

My mother's eyes teared up. I could tell she was trying hard to keep it together for my sake. "Oh, Percy…"

"Yeah. Chiron is letting me stay at Camp if I want but I don't think he'll blame me if I go home," I responded.

She turned her pencil around her fingers. "Percy, as much as I want you to come home"—she sighed like she was mad at herself—"as much as I want you to be safe, I know that you'll feel safer with your friends. Just know that I will support you, even if you decide to do something dangerous."

"Thanks, mom." I responded.

The toilet flushed down the hall in our apartment.

"I don't have much time," my mom said. "Percy, I love you."

And with that my mom waved her hand over the mist, and the connection dissolved.

…

I don't remember falling asleep, but I remember the dream.

I was back at Mount Orythis, the sky heavy—the cavern ceiling—and low above me. Annabeth was kneeling under the weight of the sky. She was too tired even to cry out. Her legs trembled. Any second, I knew she would run out of strength and the sky would collapse on top of her.

"How is our mortal guest?" a male voice boomed.

It wasn't Kronos. Kronos' voice was raspy and metallic, like knife scraped across stone. I'd heard it taunting me many times before in my dreams. But _this_ voice was deeper and lower, like a bass guitar. The force made the ground vibrate.

Luke emerged from the shadows. He ran to Annabeth, knelt beside her, then looked back at the unseen man. "She's fading. We must hurry."

The deep voice chuckled. It belonged to someone in the shadows, at the edge of my dream. Then a meaty hand thrust someone forward into the light—Artemis—her hands and feet bound in celestial bronze chains. Her silvery dress was torn and tattered. Her face and arms were cut in several places, and she was bleeding ichor, the golden blood of the gods.

"You heard the boy," said the man in the shadows. "Decide!"

Artemis' eyes flashed with anger. The chains must be magical because she couldn't break through it.

The goddess looked at Annabeth and her expression changed to concern and outrage. "How dare you torture a maiden like this!"

"She will die soon," Luke said. "You can save her."

Annabeth made a weak sound of protest. My heart felt like it was being twisted into a knot. I wanted to run to her, but I couldn't move.

"Free my hands," Artemis said.

Luke brought out his sword, Backbiter. With one expert strike, he broke the goddess' handcuffs.

Artemis ran to Annabeth and took the burden from her shoulders. Annabeth collapsed on the ground and lay there shivering. Artemis staggered, trying to support the weight of the sky.

The man in the shadows chuckled. "You are as predictable as you were easy to beat, Artemis."

"You surprise me," the goddess said, straining under her burden. "It will not happen again."

"Indeed it will not," the man said. "Now you are out of the way for good! I knew you could not resist helping a young maiden. That is, after all, your specialty, my dear."

Artemis groaned. "You know nothing of mercy, you swine."

"On that," the man said, "we can agree. Luke, you may kill the girl now."

"No!" Artemis shouted.

Luke hesitated. "She—she may yet to be useful, sir. Further bait."

"Bah! You truly believe that?"

"Yes, General. They will come for her. I'm sure."

The man considered. "Then the dracaenae can guard her here. Assuming she does not die from her injuries, you may keep her alive until winter solstice. After that, if our sacrifice goes as plan, her life will be meaningless. The lives of _all_ mortals will be meaningless."

Luke gathered up Annabeth's listless body and carried her away from the goddess.

"You will never find the monster you seek," Artemis said. "Your plan will fail."

"How little you know, my young goddess," the man in the shadows said. "Even now, your darling attendants begin their quest to find you. They shall play directly into my hands. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have a long journey to make. We must greet your Hunters and make sure their quest is… challenging."

The man's laughter echoed in the darkness, shaking the ground until it seemed the sky would collapse.

…

I woke with a start. I was sure I heard a loud banging.

I looked around the cabin. It was dark outside. The salt spring still gurgled. No other sounds but the hoot of an owl in the woods and the distant surf on the beach. Then there was a _BANG. BANG._

Someone, or something, was pounding on my door.

I grabbed Riptide and my thermos and got out of bed.

"Hello?" I called.

THUMP. THUMP.

I crept to the door.

I uncapped the blade and flung open the door, and found myself face-to-face with a black Pegasus.

 _Whoa, boss!_ Its voice spoke in my mind as it clopped away from the sword blade. _I don't wanna be a horse-ke-bob!_

It's black wings spread in alarm, and the wind buffeted me back a step.

"Blackjack," I said, relieved but a little irritated. "It's the middle of the night!"

Blackjack huffed. _Ain't either, boss. It's five in the morning. What you still sleeping for?_

"I don't normally wake up at this time," I groaned as I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes.

Blackjack had been a captive on board of Luke's ship last summer, until we'd caused a little distraction that allowed him to escape. Although all I did was use pool water yank Luke into the pool, Blackjack credited me for saving him and adopted me.

It sometimes didn't help that since my dad created horses, I can read the thoughts of equestrians and in return they can read me.

"Blackjack," I said. "you're supposed to stay in the stables."

 _Meh, the stables. You see Chiron staying in the stables?_

"Well… no."

 _Exactly. Listen, we got another little sea friends needing your help._

"Again?"

 _Yeah. I told the Hippocampi I'd come get you._

I groaned. After my first quest two years ago, the Hippocampi would pay me a visit and ask me to help them with their problems. And they had a lot of problems. Beached whales, porpoises caught in fishing nets, mermaids with hangnails—they'd call me to come underwater and help.

"All right," I said, "I'm coming."

 _You're the best, boss._

"Yeah, yeah. Just wait a second."

I went back to my bunk and went under it to remove the loose floorboard. I grabbed a few sand dollars (they always seem to come in handy in sea services). I was about to put the floor board back when I saw Annabeth's magic Yankees cap. Something told me I'll need it, so on impulse I grabbed it and headed out.


	8. Why Do I Keep Being Pushed Into Quest?

**A/N:** Certain ancient Greek names matches words use of foul language but no foul language was intentionally used. Also if you haven't read them yet read 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Early Adventures' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief' and 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters' before reading this story. Lastly, any one who wants to do a Demigods and Olympian reads story using 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon' is allowed _as long as_ you inform me about it.

* * *

 **Why Do I Keep Being Pushed Into Quest?**

Blackjack gave me a ride down the beach, and it was great. Being on a flying horse, skimming over the waves at a hundred miles an hour with the wind in my hair and the sea spray in my face—it beats waterskiing any day.

 _Here._ Blackjack slowed and turned in a circle. _Straight down._

"Thanks." I tumbled off his back and plunged into the icy water. I didn't have to worry about holding my breath or the icy water impact killing me or the water pressure.

I started swimming toward the darkness, using the currents to boost my speed to where I reached forty feet in minutes. I could see the heat from all living forms, and the cold of the currents.

As I got closer to the bottom, I saw three hippocampi—fish-tailed horses—swimming in a circle round an overturned boat. The hippocampi were beautiful to watch. Their fish tails shimmered in rainbow colors, glowing phosphorescent. Their manes were white, and they were galloping through the water the way nervous horses do in a thunderstorm. Something was upsetting them.

I got closer and saw the problem. A dark shape—some kind of animal—was wedged halfway under the boat and tangled in a fishing net, one of those big nets they use on trawlers to catch everything at once. I hated those things. It was bad enough they drowned porpoises and dolphins, but they also occasionally caught mythological animals. When the nets got tangled, some lazy fisherman would just cut them loose and let the trapped animal die.

Apparently this poor creature had been mucking around on the bottom of Long Island Sound and had somehow gotten itself tangled in the net of this sunken fishing boat. It had tried to get out and managed to get even more hopelessly stuck, shifting the boat in the process. Now the wreckage of the hull, which was resting against a big rock, was teetering and threatening to collapse on top of the tangled animal.

The hippocampi were swimming around frantically, wanting to help but not sure how. One was trying to chew the net, but the hippocampi teeth just aren't meant for cutting rope. Hippocampi are really strong, but they don't have hands, and they're not all that smart.

 _Free it, lord!_ A hippocampus said when it saw me. The others joined in, asking the same thing.

I swam in for a closer look at the tangled creature. At first I thought it was a young hippocampus. I'd rescued several of them before. But then I heard a strange sound, something that did not belong underwater:

"Mooooooo!"

I got next to the thing and saw that it was a cow. I mean… I'd heard of sea cows, like manatees and stuff, but this really was a cow with the back end of a serpent. The front half was a calf—a baby, with black fur and big, sad brown eyes and a white muzzle—and its back half was a black and brown snaky tail with fins running down the top and bottom, like an enormous eel.

 _We don't know what it is, lord,_ one of the hippocampi said. _Many strange things are stirring._

"Yeah, I heard," I responded. "I'll check out what it is when I get back to camp. For now, let's get it free before the boat crashes on it."

I uncapped Riptide, and the sword grew to full length in my hands, its bronze blade gleaming in the dark.

The cow serpent freaked out and started struggling against the net, its eyes full of terror. "Whoa!" I said. "I'm not going to hurt you! Just let me cut the net."

But the cow serpent thrashed around and got even more tangled. The boat started to tilt, stirring up the muck on the sea bottom and threatening to topple onto the cow serpent. The Hippocampi whinnied in panic and thrashed in the water, which didn't help.

"Okay, okay!" I said. I put away my sword and started speaking as calmly as I could so the hippocampi and cow serpent would stop panicking. "It's cool. No sword. See? No sword. Calm thoughts. Sea grass. Mama cow. Vegetarianism."

The cow serpent seemed to calm down at my voice. The Hippocampi were still skittish, but they stopped swirling around me so fast.

 _Free it, lord!_ They pleaded.

"I'm thinking," I responded.

I remember in history how Native Americans use sharp rocks and stones to cut stuff before the colonies were formed.

I swam down and searched around until I found the sharpest rock I could find. The Cow serpent didn't seem so skittish around sharp rocks as it is around swords, thank gods.

"All right," I told the Hippocampi. "I need all of you to push exactly the way I tell you."

First we started with the boat. It wasn't easy, but with the strength of three horsepower, we managed to shift the wreckage so it was no longer threatening to collapse on the baby serpent. Then I went to work on the net, cutting and untangling it section by section, getting the lead weights and fishing hooks straightened out, yanking out knots around the cow serpent's hooves. The whole time, I kept talking to the cow fish, telling it everything was okay while it mooed and moaned.

Finally the net came off and the cow serpent zipped through the water and did a happy somersault.

The hippocampi whinnied with joy. _Thank you, lord!_

"Moooo!" The cow serpent nuzzled me and gave me the big brown eyes.

"Yeah," I said. "That's okay. Nice cow. Well… stay out of trouble."

Which reminded me, I'd been underwater how long? An hour, at least. I had to get back to my cabin before Argus or the harpies discovered I was breaking curfew.

I shot to the surface and broke through. Immediately, Blackjack zoomed down and let me catch hold of his neck. He lifted me into the air and took me back toward the shore.

 _Success, boss?_

"Yeah. We rescued a baby… some kind of sea creature. Took forever."

 _Good deeds done then._

I couldn't help thinking about my dream, with Annabeth crumpled and lifeless in Luke's arms. Here I was rescuing baby and yet ancient sea creatures, but I couldn't save my friend.

 _Stop it,_ I thought, _Thalia and Grover will save her. I doubt Thalia would allow Annabeth be killed._

As Blackjack flew back toward my cabin, I happened to glance at the dining pavilion. I saw a figure—a boy hunkered down behind a Greek column, like he was hiding from someone.

It was Nico, but it wasn't even dawn yet. Nowhere near time for breakfast, and I doubt Zoë was leaving this early. What was he doing up there?

I hesitated. Something was wrong. I could tell by the way he was crouching.

"Blackjack," I said, "set me down over there, will you? Behind that column."

…

It didn't take me long to figure out what Nico was doing. As soon as I got close enough, I heard Zoë's voice from the pavilion, and Nico was spying on her.

I took out Annabeth's magic cap out of my pocket and put it on.

I didn't feel any different, so I raised my arms and I couldn't see them. I was invisible.

I crept up to Nico and sneaked around him. I couldn't see Zoë very well, but I heard her voice. She seemed distraught.

"Centaur's blood—those foolish Stoll boys from the Hermes Cabin. They knew that Centaur blood is like acid and yet they sprayed the inside of that Artemis Hunting Tour T-shirt with it."

"I can go!" I heard another voice that I recognize Phoebe.

"No, you need to stay and recover," Zoë said, "There's no time to pick another. I'll go on my own."

Zoë left shortly afterward.

Nico and I scooted out of the way as Zoë left.

I could tell what Nico was thinking. He took a deep breath and was about to run to find his sister when I took off the invisibility cap and said, "Wait."

He almost slipped on the icy steps as he spun around to find me. "Where did you come from?"

"I've been here the whole time. Invisible."

He mouthed the word _invisible_. "Wow. Coo."

"Why were you following Zoë?" I asked.

He blushed. "I heard her walk by the Hermes cabin. I don't… I don't sleep well at camp, and I thought she might be making plans to make Bianca join her. So I kind of followed.

"And now you're thinking of going on the quest because your sister is on it," I guessed.

"How?"

"Because Annabeth and Thalia were like sisters to me, and I would want to go after Thalia to help save Annabeth," I responded, "I'm sorry, Nico, you can't go."

He looked defiant. "Because I'm too young?"

"Because they won't let you. They'll catch you and send you back here. Not to mention there will be a lot more dangerous monsters than the manticore out there that will kill you.

His shoulders sagged. He shifted from foot to foot. "Maybe you're right. But, but _you_ can go for me."

"Say what?"

"You can turn invisible. You can go!"

"The Hunters don't like boys," I reminded him.

"Follow them invisibly, keep an eye on my sister. I don't trust those hunters—" Nico stopped.

"What?" I asked.

"I don't know how I know this, but—I can't shake this feeling that when Bianca and I get claimed, we'll be hated," Nico responded.

"What?" I responded. "That's crazy."

"Please!" Nico looked at me in the eyes with puppy dog eyes. I hesitated as his eyes reminded me of

"Fine!" I responded. "But trust me, no mother who your Olympian parent is, being claimed doesn't have to be a bad thing because in the end, it means your Olympian parent recognized you as their son."

Nico nodded. "Get going, then!" he said. "Good luck!"

It was crazy. I wasn't packed. I only had the Yankees cap, a sword, my thermos that was clipped to my pants, and some sand dollars that I brought just incase I had to pay some sea spirits but never got the chance to use. And yet again, I was pushed into a quest I wasn't even supposed to be on. "Tell Chiron—"

"I'll make something up." Nico smiled crookedly. "I'm good at that. Go on!"

I ran, putting on Annabeth's cap. As the sun came up, I turned invisible. I hit the top of Half-Blood Hill in time to see the camp's van disappearing down the farm road, probably Argus taking the quest group into the city. After that they would be on their own.

How was I supposed to keep up with them.

Then I heard the beating of huge wings. Blackjack landed next to me. He began casually nuzzling a few tufts of grass that stuck through the ice.

He wasn't speaking but if I had to guess, _boss, I'd say you need a getaway horse. You interested?_

Either way, I was grateful enough to say, "Let's fly."


	9. How to Grow Zombies for Mortals

**A/N:** Certain ancient Greek names matches words use of foul language but no foul language was intentionally used. Also if you haven't read them yet read 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Early Adventures' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief' and 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters' before reading this story. Lastly, any one who wants to do a Demigods and Olympian reads story using 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon' is allowed _as long as_ you inform me about it.

* * *

 **How to Grow Zombies for Mortals**

The thing about flying on a Pegasus during the daytime is that if you don't use the Mist or if you're not careful, you can cause a serious traffic accident on the Long Island Expressway. Since it was winter and the clouds were low, I had Blackjack hid in them, and when we leave the clouds I used the Mist to make us look like a giant North American eagle or something so we could keep an eye on the Camp Half-Blood van. And if it was cold on the ground, it was seriously cold in the air, with icy rain stinging my skin.

I would have brought something warm from the camp store, but after what happened to Phoebe, I don't think I can trust their products anymore.

Thanks to the combinations of clouds and Mist, we didn't loose the van, although I had a good feeling they would go into Manhattan again.

Traffic was bad with the holidays and all. It was mid morning before they ot into the city. I landed Blackjack near the top of the Chrysler Building and watched the white building kept driving instead of pulling off into a bus station.

"Zoë must be driving," I responded. "I guess I shouldn't be surprise."

 _Hey, boss! There's a donut shop,_ Blackjack said, _Can we get something to go?_

I tried explaining to Blackjack that taking a flying horse to a donut shop might draw attention even with the Mist. Plus I didn't want to lose the van. I never seen Zoë driving and I didn't know if she was the type to drive safely around mortals, but I didn't want to take any chances of a hunter that might be older than the first Model T.

"Well," I said, "Let's get after them."

We were about to leap off the Chrysler Building when Blackjack whinnied in alarm and almost threw me. Grape vines had sprouted from the cracks between the stones of the building and were already wrapping around Blackjack and started creeping up my leg.

"Going somewhere?" Mr. D asked.

He was leaning against the building with his feet levitating in the air, his leopard-skin warm-up suit and black hair whipping around in the wind.

 _God alert!_ Blackjack yelled, _It's the wine dude._

Mr. D sighted in exasperation. "The next person, _or horse_ , who calls me the 'wine dude' will end up in a bottle of Merlot!"

"Mr. D, I know this looks bad—"

Mr. D snorted. "That's an understatement. I should throw you off this building, minus the flying horse, and see how heroic you sound on the way down."

"I'm not doing this for my own purpose!" I responded.

"Oh really? You don't want to save your friend instead of trusting a fellow camper to do it, like last year," Mr. D said.

I balled my fist but I tried to keep calm. "Look, I'm sorry what happened between Ariadne and Theseus when you met her, but you need to let it go," I responded, "I never betrayed anyone in my life."

"Not yet," Mr. D responded.

"If you hate the idea of Heroes betraying people, then why don't you train us to be the heroes you prefer," I responded. "Instead of griping about heroes who put themselves above others, mold us into the heroes who would put others above themselves. And don't say it doesn't matter and that every half-blood is the same, because you were a half-blood yourself."

For a while I thought Dionysus might strangle me but instead he waved his hand dismissively. "Go. Follow your silly friends."

The vines uncurled around my legs. I didn't question it but nodded.

"Let's go, Blackjack," I responded.

 _Don't need to tell me twice,_ Blackjack agreed.

We flew off not daring to look back.

…

Zoë drove south like a crazy person, and we were in Maryland before she finally pulled over at a rest stop. Blackjack darn near tumbled out of the sky, he was so tired. _I'll be okay, boss,_ he panted. _Just… just catching my breath._

"Stay here," I told him. "I'm going to scout."

 _'Stay here' I can handle. I can do that._

I put on my cap of invisibility and walked over to the convenience store. It was difficult not to sneak. I had to keep reminding myself that nobody could see me. It was hard, too, because I had to remember to get out of people's way so they wouldn't slam into me.

I thought I'd go inside and warm up, maybe get a cup of hot chocolate or something. I had a little change in my pocket. I could leave it on the counter. Only problem would be having to deal with questions about a floating cup. However, my whole plan was ruined by Zoë, Thalia, Bianca and Grover all coming out of the store—which I guess shouldn't be surprising.

"Grover, are you sure?" Thalia was saying.

"Well… pretty sure. Ninety-nine percent. Okay, eighty five percent."

"And you did this with acorns?" Bianca asked, like she couldn't believe it.

Grover looked offended. "It's a time honored tracking spell. I mean, I'm pretty sure I did it right."

"D.C. is about sixty miles from here," Bianca said. "Nico and I…" she frowned. "We used to live there. That's… that's strange. I'd forgotten."

"I dislike this," Zoë said. "We should go straight west. The prophecy said west."

"Oh, like your tracking skills are better," Thalia groled.

Zoë stepped toward her. "You challenge my skills, you scullion? You know _nothing_ of being a Hunter!"

"Oh, _scullion_? You're calling _me_ a scullion? What the heck is a scullion?"

"Whoa, you two," Grover said nervously. "Come on. Not again!"

"You're just mad because Camp Half-Blood beat you Hunters in a game of Capture the Flag for once!" Thallia yelled.

"You only won because of some sheer dumb luck on a boy's idiotic planning," Zoë responded.

"That _idiotic planning_ was originally made by Annabeth!" Thalia yelled.

"Enough!" Bianca yelled. "Let's get back on focusing on our quest! Right now D.C. is our best bet."

Zoë didn't look convinced, but she nodded reluctantly. "Very well. Let us keep moving."

"You're going to get us arrested, driving," Thalia grumbled. "I look closer to sixteen than you do."

"Perhaps," Zoë snapped. "But I have been driving since automobiles were invented. Let us go."

…

Blackjack and I ended up following the white van to Washington D.C. It wouldn't have been a problem if Blackjack had more time to recover, but since he haven't, he started slowing down and dropping altitude. He was breathing heavily but he kept flying for me

Fortunately, the van started to slow down. It crossed the Potomac River into central Washington.

"Set me down there," I told Blackjack. "That's close enough."

Blackjack was so tired he didn't complained. He dropped toward the Washington Monument and set me on the grass.

The van was only a few blocks away. Zoë had parked at the curb.

I looked at Blackjack. "I want you to go back to camp. Get some rest. Graze. I'll be fine."

Blackjack cocked his head skeptically. _You sure, boss?_

"You've done enough already I said. "I'll be fine. And thanks a ton."

 _A ton of hay, maybe,_ Blackjack mused. _That sounds good. All right, but be careful, boss. I got a feeling they didn't come here to meet anything friendly and handsome like me._

I promised to be careful. Then Blackjack took off, circling twice around the monument before disappearing into the clouds.

I looked over at the white van. Everybody was getting out. Grover pointed toward one of the big buildings lining the Mall. Thalia nodded, and the four of them trudged off into the cold wind.

I started to follow. But then I froze.

A block away, the door of a black sedan opened. A man with gray hair and a military buzz cut got out. He was wearing dark shades and a black overcoat. I recognized the car a couple of times on the highway, going south. It had been following the van.

The guy took out his mobile phone and said something into it. Then he looked around, like he was making sure the coast was clear, and started walking down the Mall in the directions of my friends.

The worst of it was: when he turned to me, I recognized his face. It was Dr. Thorn, the manticore from Westover Hall.

…

Invisibility cap on, I followed Thorn from a distance. I figured he was alive since Annabeth had been in my dreams. But what worried me was what he was doing in D.C., especially after the last dream I had.

Thorn kept well back from my friends, careful not to be see.

Finally, Grover stopped in front of a big building that said NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM. The Smithsonian. I been here when I was younger—before my mom met Gabe and especially before I found out I was a demigod.

Thalia checked the door. It was open, but there weren't that many people going in. Too cold, and school was out of session. They slipped inside.

Dr. Thorn hesitated. I wasn't sure why, but he didn't go into the museum. He turned and headed across the Mall. I made a split second decision to follow him and that if I ran into trouble, I would contact my friends.

Thorn crossed the street and climbed the steps of the Museum of Natural History. There was a big sign on the door. It took a while and a bit of confusion, but a decipher the sign: CLOSED FOR PRIVATE EVENT.

I followed Dr. Thorn inside, through a huge chamber full of mastodons and dinosaur skeletons. There were voices up ahead, coming from behind a set of closed doors. Two guards stood outside. They opened the doors for Thorn and I had to sprint to get inside before they closed them again.

Inside, what I saw almost made me want to turn around and get my friends, which probably would have been the brightest move I made.

I was in a huge room with a balcony ringing the second level. At least a mortal dozen guards stood on the balcony, plus two monsters—reptilian women with double-snake trunks instead of legs: Scythian dracaneae.

But that wasn't the worse of it. Standing between the two snake women—I could swear he was looking straight at me—was my friend-turned-evil Luke. He looked worse off than when he returned from failing his quest of getting the apple of Hesperides. His skin was pale and his blond hair looked almost gray, as if he aged ten years in just a few months. The angry light in his eyes were still there, and so was the scar down the side of his face, where Landon the Dragon had once scratched him. But the scar was now ugly red, as if it had recently been reopened.

Next to him, sitting down so that the shadows covered him, was another man. All I could see were his knuckles on the gilded arms of his chair, like a throne.

"Well?" asked the man in the chair. His voice was just like the one I'd heard in my dream—not as creepy as Kronos', but deeper and stronger, like the earth itself was talking. It filled the whole room even though he wasn't yelling.

Dr. Thorn took off his shades. His two-colored eyes, brown and blue, glittered with excitement. He made a stiff bow, then spoke in his weird French accent: "They are here, General."

"I know that, you fool," boomed the man. "But where?"

"In the rocket museum."

"The Air and Space Museum," Luke corrected irritably.

Dr. Thorn glared at Luke. "As you say, _sir_."

I got the feeling Thorn would just as soon impale Luke with one of his spikes as call him sir.

"How many?" Luke asked.

Thorn pretended not to hear.

 _"How many?"_ the General demanded.

"Four, General," Thorn said. "The satyr, Grover Underwood. The girl I was unfortunate to capture—Bianca di Angelo. And the girl with the spiky black hair and the—how do you say— _punk_ clothes and the horrible shield."

"Thalia," Luke said.

"There's also a hunter wearing a silver circlet."

" _That_ one I know," the General growled.

Everyone in the room shifted uncomfortably.

"Let me take them," Luke said to the General. "We have more than enough—"

"Patience," the General said. "They'll have their hands full already. I've sent a little playmate to keep them occupied."

"But—"

"We cannot risk you, my boy."

"Yes, _boy_ ," Dr. Thorn said with a cruel smile. "You are much to fragile to risk. Let _me_ finish them off."

"No." The General rose from his chair, and I got my first look at him.

He was tall and muscular, with light brown skin and slick-back dark hair. He wore an expensive brown silk suit like the guys on Wall Street wear, but you'd never mistake this dude for a broker. He was a brutal face, huge shoulders, nd hands that could snap a flagpole in half. His eyes were like stone. I felt as if I were looking at a living statue. It was amazing he could even move.

"You have already failed me, Thorn," he said.

"But, General—"

"No excuses!"

Thorn flinched. This General was the real deal—natural born commander.

"I should throw you into the pits of Tartarus for your incompetence," the General said. "I send you to capture the child of the three elder gods or at least those two promising demigods you found, and you bring me a scrawny daughter of Athena."

"But you promised me revenge!" Thorn protested. "A command of my own!"

" _I_ am Lord Kronos' senior commander," the General said. "And I will choose lieutenants who get me results! It was only thanks to Luke that we salvaged our plan at all. Now get out of my sight, Thorn, until I find some other menial task for you."

Thorn's face turned purple with rage. I thought he was going to start frothing at the mouth or shooting spines, but he just bowed awkwardly and left the room.

"Now, my boy." The General turned to Luke. "The first thing we must do is isolate the half-blood Thalia. The monster we seek will then come to her."

"The Hunter will be difficult to dispose of," Luke said. "Zoë Nightshade—"

"Do not speak her name!"

Luke swallowed. "S—sorry, General. I just—"

The General silenced him with a wave of his hand. "Let me show you, my boy, how we bring the Hunter down."

He pointed to a guard on the ground level. "Do you have the teeth?"

The guy stumbled forward with a ceramic pot. "Yes, General!"

"Plant them," she said.

In the center of the room was a big circle of dirt, where I guess a dinosaur exhibit was supposed to go. I watched nervously as the guard took sharp white teeth out of the pot and pushed them into the soil. He smoothed them over while the General smile coldly.

The guard stepped back from the dirt and wiped his hands. "Ready, General!"

"Excellent! Water them, and we will let them scent their prey."

The guard picked up a little tin watering can with daisies painted on it, which was kind of bizarre, because what he poured out wasn't water. It was dark red liquid.

The soil began to bubble.

"Soon," the General said, "I will show you, Luke, soldiers that will make your army from that little boat look insignificant."

Luke clenched his fists. "I've spent a year training my forces! When the _Princess Andromeda_ arrives at the mountain, they'll be the best—"

"Ha!" the General said. "I don't deny your troops will make a fine honor guard for Lord Kronos. And you, of course, will have a role to play—"

I thought Luke turned paler when the General said that. Just what exactly does Kronos have planned for Luke?

"—but under my leadership, the forces of Lord Kronos will increase a hundredfold. We will be unstoppable. Behold, my ultimate killing machines."

The soil erupted. I stepped back nervously.

In each spot where a tooth had been planted, a creature was struggling out of the dirt. I was just about to go get my friends when the first one said: "Mew?"

It was a kitten. A little orange tabby with stripes like a tiger. Then another appeared, until there were a dozen, rolling around in the dirt.

Everyone stared at them in disbelief. The General roared, _"What is this? Cute cuddly kittens? Where did you find those teeth?"_

The guard who'd brought the teeth cowered in fear. "From the exhibit, sir! Just like you said. The saber-toothed tiger—"

"No, you idiot! I said the tyrannosaurus! Gather up those… those infernal fuzzy little beast and take them outside. And never let me see your face again."

The terrified guard dropped his watering can. He gathered up the kittens and scampered out of the room.

"You!" The General pointed to another guard. "Get me the _right teeth. NOW!"_

The new guard ran off to carry out his orders.

"Imbeciles," muttered the General.

"This is why I don't use mortals," Luke said. "They are unreliable."

"They are weak-minded, easily bought, and violent," the General said. "I love them."

A minute later, the guard hustled into the room with his hands full of large pointy teeth.

"Excellent," the General said. He climbed onto the balcony railing and jumped down, twenty feet.

Where he landed, the marble floor cracked under his leather shoes. He stood, wincing, and rubbed his shoulders. "Curse my stiff neck."

Another hot pad, sir?" a guard asked. "More Tylenol?"

"No! It will pass." The General brushed off his silk suit, then snatched up the teeth. "I'll do this myself."

He held up one of the teeth and smiled. Dinosaur teeth—ha! Those foolish mortals don't even know when they have dragon teeth in their possession. And not just _any_ dragon teeth. These come from the ancient Sybaris herself! They shall do nicely."

He planted them in the dirt, twelve in all. Then he scooped up the watering can. He sprinkled the soil with red liquid, tossed the can away, and held his arms out wide. "Rise!"

The dirt trembled. A single, skeletal hand shot out of the ground, grasping at the air.

The General looked up quickly at the balcony. "Quickly, do you have the scent?"

"Yesssss, lord," one of the snake ladies said. She took out a sash of silvery fabric, the kind the Hunters wore.

"Excellent," the General said. "Once my warriors catch its scent, they will pursue its owner relentlessly. Nothing can stop them, no weapon known to half-blood or Hunter. They will tear the Hunter and their allies to shreds. Toss it here."

I need to get to my friends, but I need a distraction. I took out my thermos and focus my power into it.

At the same time the skeletons erupted from the ground. There were twelve of them, one for each tooth the General planted. They were growing flesh as they started turning into a dull gray, yellow eyes men in modern combat clothes. But their flesh was transparent and their bones shimmered underneath, like X-Ray images.

My thermos fired a jet blast of water and I used it to fire down each of the warriors bellow.

"An intruder" The general growled. "One cloaked in darkness. Seal the doors!"

"It's Percy Jackson," Luke yelled. "It has to be!"

I knew this wouldn't delay them much, so I sprinted toward the exit. Once through I didn't stop until I found my friends.


	10. I Once Again Ruin A Museum Exhibit

**A/N:** Certain ancient Greek names matches words use of foul language but no foul language was intentionally used. Also if you haven't read them yet read 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Early Adventures' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief' and 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters' before reading this story. Lastly, any one who wants to do a Demigods and Olympian reads story using 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon' is allowed _as long as_ you inform me about it.

* * *

 **I Ruin A Museum Exhibit… Again**

I wished I have got that cloth before I left, but everything happened so quickly, I haven't had time to grab it.

Now, I tore across the Mall, hoping that I delay their plans long enough to find my friends. I took off my invisibility cap once I was through the admissions area.

The main part of the museum was one huge room with rockets and airplanes hanging from the ceiling. Three levels of balconies curled around, so you could look at the exhibits from all different heights. The place wasn't crowded, just a few families and a couple of tour groups of kids, probably doing one of those holiday school trips. I wanted to yell at them to leave, but I couldn't risk getting arrested. I had to find Thalia Grover Bianca and Zoë. Any Minute now, the Skeleton dudes were going to invade the museum.

I ran into Thalia—literally. I was barreling up the ramp to the top-floor balcony and slammed into her, knocking her into an Apollo space capsule.

Grover yelped in surprise.

Before I could regain my balance Zoë had her arrow notched, aimed at my chest. Her bow had magically appeared out of nowhere, which is basically how Hunter bows worked.

When Zoë realized who I was, she didn't seem anxious to lower her bow. "You! How dare you show thy face here?"

"Percy!" Grover said. "Thank goodness."

Zoë glared at him, and he blushed. "I mean, um, gosh. You're not supposed to be here!"

"Sorry for knocking into you Thalia, and I'll explain later why I came here. But right now we got bigger problems," I responded. "Luke is here!"

"Where?" Thalia demanded.

"First off, I swear on the River of Styx that what I'm about to tell you is the truth," I responded before telling them about the Natural History Museum, Dr. Thorn, Luke, and the General.

"The General is _here_?" Zoë looked stunned. "That's impossible! You lie."

"No, he's not." Grover said, "Percy made an oath on the river of Styx that what he told us is true, and he doesn't go making that kind of Oath unless he's plans to take it seriously."

"That's right!" I responded. "Look, there's no time. The Skeleton warriors—"

 _"What?"_ Thalia responded. "How many?"

"Twelve and they should have Zoë's scent by now," I responded, "That's not all. The General said he was sending a monster to distract us."

Thalia and Grover exchange looks.

"We were following Artemis' trail," Grover said. "I was pretty sure it led here. Some powerful monster scent… She must've stopped here looking for the mystery monster. But we haven't found it yet."

"Who is the General?" Bianca asked.

"Nothing to worry about!" Zoë snapped, "Percy must have seen an Iris-message or some kind of illusion."

"Illusions don't crack marble floors," I responded.

Zoë took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.

"If Percy is telling the truth about the skeleton warriors," she said, "we have no time to argue. They are the worst, the most horrible… we must leave now."

"Right," I responded.

"I was _not_ including thee, boy," Zoë said. "You are not part of this quest."

"Why did you come, Percy?" Thalia asked.

I bit my lip. "Nico asked me to come, he found out about Phoebe and was about to follow you guys when I stopped him."

"Nico—why?" Bianca asked.

"He's worried about when you get claimed," I responded. "I don't know why, but he think you and him would be treated badly when you guys get claimed. If I haven't agreed to go in his place, Nico would have gone after you instead."

I expected Bianca to argue but instead she sighed, "That sounds like something Nico would do."

"You shouldn't have come, Percy," Thalia said grimly. "But you're here now. Come on. Let's get back to the van."

"That's not thy decision!" Zoë snapped.

Thalia scowled at her, "Percy came this way, and we don't have much of a choice."

"You ever had any wisdom when it came to boys," Zoë growled. "You never could leave them behind!"

Thalia looked like she was about to hit Zoë. I remembered after my first encounter with Zoë, Thalia and Luke mentioned meeting the Hunters before and how their encounter didn't end well.

But before Thalia hit Zoë, everyone froze. I heard a growl so loud I thought one of the rocket engines was starting up.

Below us, a few adults screamed. A little kid's voice screeched with delight: "Kitty!"

Something enormous bounded up the ramp. It was the size of a pick-up truck, with silver claws and golden glittering fur: the Nemean Lion. I remember getting a glimpse of this monster on a train two years ago. Now, up close and personal, it looked even bigger.

"The Nemean Lion," Thalia said. "Don't move."

The lion roared so loud it parted my hair. Its fangs gleamed like stainless steel.

"Separate on my mark," Zoë said. "Try to keep it distracted."

"Until when?" Grover asked.

"I say until we can get it to open its mouth wide enough to strike in it," I responded.

Everyone turned to me.

"The inside of Nemean Lion's mouth is its weakness," I responded.

Zoë reluctantly nodded. "Go!"

I rolled to the left taking out my thermos for some reason. Arrows whistled past me, and Grover played a sharp _tweet-tweet-tweet_ cadence on his reed pipes. I turned and saw Zoë and Bianca climbing the Apollo capsule. Bianca were firing arrows, one after another, all shattering harmless against the Lion's metallic fur. When the lion open its mouth, Zoë tried to take aim, but then the lion swiped the capsule and tipped it on one side spilling Zoë and Bianca off the back. Grover played a frantic, horrible tune, and the lion turned toward him, but Thalia stepped into its path, holding up Aegis, and the lion recoiled. _"ROOOAAAR!"_

"Hi-yah!" Thalia said. "Back!"

The lion growled and clawed the air, but it retreated as if the shield were a blazing fire as Thalia took out her spear.

For a second, it seemed Thalia could destroy the monster. Then I saw the lion crouching, its legs muscles tensing. I'd seen enough cat fights in the alleys around my apartment in New York. I knew the lion was going to pounce.

"Hey!" I yelled as I uncapped my thermos and summoned a blast of water. It hit the monster, but instead of destroying it, the water blast caught its attention—which was what I hoped.

The Lion started charging at me. I backed against the railing. It sprang at me, one thousand pounds of monster, and I turned and jumped.

I landed on the wing of an old fashioned silver airplane and grabbed on as it tried to spill me on the floor, three stories bellow.

An arrow whizzed past my head toward the Lion's mouth but missed. The lion jumped onto the air craft, and the cords holding the plane groan.

I dropped onto the next exhibit before the Lion had a chance to swipe at me. Now I was on this weird-looking spacecraft with blades like a helicopter.

Zoë fired another arrow but missed completely. I dropped from the spaceship onto the top of a floor exhibit, a huge model of the earth. I slid down Russia and dropped off the equator.

The Nemean Lion growled and steadied itself on the spacecraft, but its weight was too much. One cord snapped. As the display swung down like a pendulum, the lion leaped off onto the earth's North Pole.

I remembered how I killed the Fury for the first time two years ago by cutting the ropes holding up the replica of the Argo's mast, and I knew if we didn't do something soon, someone will suffer the similar fate—only they won't be revived two weeks later.

"Grover!" I yelled. "Clear the area!"

Groups of kids were running around screaming. Grover tried to corral them away from the monster just as the other cord on the spaceship snapped and the exhibit crashed to the floor. Thalia dropped off the second-floor railing and landed across from me, on the other side of the globe. The lion regarded us both, trying to decide which of us to kill first.

Zoë and Bianca were above us, bows ready, but they were having to move around to get a good angle.

"No clear shot!" Zoë yelled. "Get it to open it's mouth more."

I look at Thalia, she had her spear out and ready. I remembered how Clarisse and I combine powers of the creek and Clarisse's spear to destroy a hellhound accidentally (I didn't know Clarisse was on the other side of the Hellhound). It might not be enough to kill the Nemean Lion, but it might be enough to help.

"Thalia!" I yelled.

Thalia turned to me as I pointed at my thermos and then at her spear. Thalia looked at the two and seemed to get the idea.

"Hey Lion, come and get me!" I yelled.

The Nemean Lion turned to me and pounced. I ducked and roll to it's side.

"Hey over here you stupid cat!" I yelled. The lion turned to me as I uncapped Riptide and threw it, so it could transform while spinning. It bounced off the Lion, which angered it enough to come at me with open claws and mouth.

I took out my thermos and focus a full blast of water just as the Nemean Lion in the mouth.

"Now!" I yelled.

Thalia nodded and fired an arch of blue electricity. It hit the water near the Lion's mouth. My guess is the combination of lightning and water help send electricity through the vulnerable mouth into the body of the lion because it didn't take long for the lion to burst into a golden dust.

Alarms wailed throughout the museum. People were flocking to the exits. Security guards were running around in panic with no idea what was going on. My guess was that Grover used a minor confusion song.

Zoë and Biacnca dropped from the balcony and landed next to me.

Zoë eyed me cautiously. "That was… an interesting strategy."

"At least it worked," I responded.

Thalia picked up something from the pile—a glittering fur coat that was now the size of a normal lion's coat. "Here, Percy, I think you earned this one."

She tossed it to me. I was surprise that it was light and soft considering it was strong enough to deflect a blade.

"Me?" I asked.

"It was your plan combining electricity with water," Thalia responded, "Only right you earned it."

"She's right," Zoë agreed.

Everyone turned to her surprised as Zoë quickly hid what I thought was an almost-smile.

I nodded and put on the pelt. When I did it shifted and change into a coat—a full-length golden-brown duster.

"Not exactly my style, but I'll take it—for now," I responded.

"We have to get out of here," Grover said. "The security guards won't stay confused for long."

"The security guards are not our biggest worry," Zoë said. "Look."

Through the glass walls of the museum, I could see a group of grey men in gray camouflage outfits—the skeleton warriors.

"Do you still want me to not be part of this quest?" I asked Zoë.

Zoë looked at me grudgingly. "I don't like it, but there is no changing fate. _You_ are the fifth quest member. And we are not leaving anyone behind."


	11. I Learn the History of My Sword

**A/N:** Certain ancient Greek names matches words use of foul language but no foul language was intentionally used. Also if you haven't read them yet read 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Early Adventures' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief' and 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters' before reading this story. Lastly, any one who wants to do a Demigods and Olympian reads story using 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon' is allowed _as long as_ you inform me about it.

* * *

 **I Learn the History of My Sword**

We were crossing the Potomac when we spotted the helicopter. It was a sleek, black military model just like the one we seen at Westover Hall. And it was coming straight toward us.

"They know the van," I said. "We have to ditch it."

Zoë swerved into the fast lane. The helicopter was gaining.

"Maybe the military will shoot it down," Grover said hopefully.

"The military probably thinks it's one of theirs," I said, "The General must have hired mortal Mercenaries that can see through the Mist."

"I hate mercenaries," Zoë said bitterly. "It is distasteful for mortals willing to fight any case as long as they get paid."

The helicopter kept coming, making a lot better time than we were through D.C. traffic.

Thalia closed her eyes and prayed hard. "Hey, Dad. A lightning bolt would be nice about now. Please?"

But the sky stay gray and snowy. No sign of a helpful thunderstorm.

"There!" Bianca said. "That parking lot!"

"We'll be trapped," Zoë said.

"Trust me," Bianca said.

Zoë shot across two lanes of traffic and into a mall parking lot on the south bank of the river. We left the van and followed Bianca down some steps.

"Subway entrance," Bianca said. "Let's go south. Alexandria."

"Anything," Thalia said.

We bought tickets and got through the turnstiles, looking behind us for any signs of pursuit. A few minutes later we were safely aboard a southbound train, riding away from D.C. As our train came above ground, we could see the helicopter circling the parking lot, but it didn't come after us.

Grover let out a sigh. "Nice job, Bianca, thinking of the subway."

Bianca looked pleased. "Yeah, well. I saw that station when Nico and I came through last summer. I remember being really surprised to see it, because it wasn't here when we used to live in D.C."

Grover frowned. "New? But that station looked really old."

"I guess," Bianca said. "But trust me, when we lived here as little kids, there was no subway."

Thalia sat forward. "Wait a minute. No subway at all?"

Bianca nodded.

Now, I knew nothing about D.C. but I didn't see how their whole subway system could be less than twelve years old. Then something came to my mind.

"Bianca—where did you and Nico—"

My voice faltered. The sound of the helicopter was getting louder.

"We need to change trains," Zoë said.

No one argued against it.

Over the next half hour all we thought about was getting away safely. We changed trains twice. I had no idea where we were going, but after a while we lost the helicopter.

Unfortunately, when we finally got off the train we found ourselves at the end of the line, in an industrial area with nothing but warehouses and railway tracks. And snow. Lots of snow. It seemed much colder here. I was glad for my new lion's coat.

We wandered through the railway yard, thinking there might be another passenger train somewhere, but there were just rows of freight cars, most of which were covered in snow, like they hadn't moved in years.

A homeless guy was standing at a trash-can fire. We must've looked pretty pathetic, because he gave us a toothless grin and said, "Y'all need to warmed up? Come on over!"

We huddled around his fire. Thalia's teeth were chattering. She said, "Well, this is g-g-g-great."

"My hooves are frozen," Grover complained.

 _"Feet,"_ I corrected, for the sake of the homeless guy."

"Maybe we should contact camp," Bianca said. "Chiron—"

"No," Zoë said. "They cannot help us anymore. We must finish this quest ourselves."

I gazed miserably around the rail yard. Somewhere, far to the west, Annabeth as in danger, Artemis was in chains, a doomsday monster on the loose, and we were stuck in the outskirts of D.C. sharing a homeless person's fire.

"You know," the homeless man said, "you're ever completely without friends." His face was grimy and his beard tangled, but his expression seemed kindly. "You kids need a train going west?"

"Yes, sir," I said. "You know of any?"

He pointed one greasy hand.

Suddenly I noticed a freight train, gleaming and free of snow. It was one of those automobile-carrier trains, with steel mesh curtains and a triple deck of cars inside. The side of the freight train said SUN WEST LINE.

"That's… convenient," Thalia said. "Thanks, uh…"

She turned to the homeless guy, but he was gone. The trash can in front of us was cold and empty, as if he'd taken the flames with him.

…

An hour later we were rumbling west. There was no problem about who would drive now, because we all got our own luxury car. Zoë crashed out in a lexus on the top of the deck. Bianca took a mustang convertible. Grover was playing race car driver behind the wheel of a Lamborghini. Thalia had hot-wired the radio of a black Mercedes SLK so she could pick up the altrock stations from D.C. As for me, I picked the Maserati Spyder that I found. Although I didn't stay in it for long as I walked over to Thalia.

"Join you?" I asked her.

She shrugged so I climbed into the shotgun seat.

The radio was playing the White Stripes. I knew the song because it was one of the only CDS I owned that my mom liked. She said it reminded her of Led Zeppelin.

"That was a cool strategy you came up for the Nemean Lion," Thalia said.

I grinned. "Half of the credit goes to Clarisse. She used her electric spear the same time I summoned a wave on the hellhound once two years ago. I didn't even know she was on the other side of the monster until it was destroyed."

"Still a good plan," Thalia responded, "I take it you haven't been able to search in Hal's book to find out who our mystery monster was?"

I shook my head. "After contacting my mom, I went to bed and slept up until Blackjack decided to wake me in five in the morning to help some Hippocampi free a sea creature that was tangled in a fishing boat net. I was actually on my way back to my cabin when I saw Nico."

"I'm guessing you found him spying on the Hunters?" Thalia asked.

"How—"

"Come on, Percy. I know you. Besides, if you were going to make a cover story, you could at least question us why there were only four of us at the museum," Thalia responded, "You may have gotten wiser since seven years ago, but you're not that smart."

I hope didn't look as embarrassed as I feel.

"Did the General say why he wanted me?" Thalia asked.

I shrugged. "Just something about our mystery monster will come for you. They wanted to isolate you from the group, so the monster will appear ad battle you one-on-one."

"That's great. I love being used as bait."

"It's not easier the second time either," I joked.

That cheered Thalia up a little. "At least we know where we're going. Mount Despair in San Francisco."

I nodded.

"You're hoping this alliance last longer than the quest, aren't you?" Thalia asked.

I stayed quiet for a while. "I would be lying if I said it haven't cross my mind. I mean—Kronos' army is increasing, now with Mortals involved—while we're losing campers," I responded. "I doubt Kronos is willing to wait until we get the numbers to match his, especially with the two of us reaching our sixteenth birthday. But if we can pull together any forces willing to go up against the Titan Lord, then—I don't know, maybe we can stand a better chance."

This time Thalia was silent before speaking, "I'm not willing to work with Zoë under normal circumstances, but since Titans rising isn't a normal circumstances, if she's willing to pull together against a common foe, then I'll try to make it work," Thalia responded.

The afternoon sun shone through the steel-mesh side of the freight car, casting a shadow across Thalia's face. Although she hid it well, she still had that lonely expression, like she doesn't belong here. I remembered Hal mentioning about Thalia being sad and lonely before finding her family

"Thalia," I responded, "What did Hal meant by 'You'll find your family'? Was there another relative of yours other than your mom?"

I wished I haven't asked that because Thalia's expression saddened.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," I responded.

"No, it's okay. I guess it would come out eventually," Thalia sighed, "Truth was, I wasn't the only half-blood child of Zeus."

I blinked. "Okay—"

"Around Six to Seven years after I was born, my dad paid my mom a visit and well. He was different though, older and somehow sterner, but more of a fatherly figure to me. But the best thing out of it was that when I was seven, my mom gave birth to a baby boy, my brother," Thalia responded. "Dad named him Jason, after Hera's favorite hero in hopes Hera might go easy on him. After that his birth, dad left again, well—even back then I couldn't get along with my mom, but since I had a baby brother to look after, I stay longer to look after him."

It started making sense to me, why Thalia looked at the empty seat as Zeus table as if hoping a sibling would arrive, because she did had a sibling. And by the sound of it Jason would be at least be two years younger than me, one depending on when his birthday was. "What happened to him?"

"When I was nine and Jason was two, our mom took us on a trip to a place called the wolf house for a picnic. We didn't get very far before my mother realized she'd forgotten the picnic basket and send me to go get it. I didn't want to leave Jason alone, but it was only a few minutes. When I came back… my mom was kneeling on the stone steps, hugging herself and crying. She said—she said Jason was gone, that Hera claimed him and was good as dead."

Thalia tried her hardest not to cry, not that I blame her. I remember how broken Annabeth Luke and I was when Thalia was turned into a tree. Not to mention last summer when I thought Tyson was killed in a ship explosion.

"I didn't tell you Luke or Annabeth because I didn't want to relive the memory of what might have happened to Jason," Thalia said.

"So that's why you were so stunned and upset when Hal brought up another relative of yours," I said.

Thalia nodded. "Truth was, when I went to see my mom again, after being turned into at tree so long, I had hopes to find out more of what happened to Jason, at least some sign that he was still alive. That way if Hal did meant Jason, at least I can keep my hopes up about finding him. Then maybe, I can introduce you and Annabeth to him."

"Well, if I did get the honor of meeting Jason, I'll be happy to consider him as a brother," I responded.

"Thanks, Percy," Thalia responded.

I left the car shortly after that.

…

I climbed back into my car which had a great view of the sun setting. I thought of Annabeth. I was afraid to go to sleep. I was worried what I might dream.

"Oh, don't be afraid of dreams," a voice said right next to me.

I looked over. Somehow, I wasn't surprised to find the homeless guy from the rail yard sitting in the shotgun seat. His jeans were so worn out they were almost white. His coat was ripped, with stuffing coming out. He looked kind of like a teddy bear that had been run over by a truck.

"If it weren't for dreams," he said. "I wouldn't know half the things I know about the future. They're better than Olympus tabloids." He cleared his throat, then held up his hands dramatically:

 _"Dreams, like a podcast,  
Downloading the truth in my ears.  
They tell me cool stuff."_

"Apollo?" I guessed.

He put his finger to his lips. "I'm incognito. Call me Fred."

"A god named Fred?"

"Eh, well… Zeus insist on certain rules. Hands off, when there's a human quest. Even when something really major is wrong. But nobody messes with my baby sister. _Nobody_."

"So then this train—"

"Will take you west to New Mexico by tomorrow."

"Great…"

"One last thing, to find Artemis and the girl you lost, there's an Old Man of the Sea: Nereus. He has a long memory and a sharp eye. He has the gift of knowledge sometimes kept obscure from my Oracle."

"But why can't you just get us directly to Artemis?" I asked.

"Well—that's the problem. I know a lot, and I see a lot, but I don't know where she is. She's clouded from me. I don't like it," Apollo said, "But Nereus can find the monster she was hunting. Find it, find Artemis."

"Right," I responded.

Apollo checked his watch. "Ah, look at the time! I have to run. I doubt I can risk helping you again, Percy, but remember what I said! Get some sleep! And when you return, I expect a good haiku about your journey!"

I wanted to protest that I wasn't tired and I'd never made up a haiku in my life, but Apollo snapped his fingers, and the next thing I knew I was closing my eyes.

…

Well, I didn't dream about the present, but I did have a dream vision of the past.

In my dream, I was somebody else. I was wearing an old fashioned Greek tunic and laced leather sandals. The Nemean Lion's skin was wrapped around my back like cape, and I was running somewhere, being pulled along by a girl who was tightly gripping my hand.

"Hurry!" she said. It was too dark to see her face clearly, but I could hear the fear in her voice. "He will find us!"

It was nighttime. A million stars blazed above. We were running through tall grass, and the scent of a thousand different flowers that made the air intoxicating. It was a beautiful garden, and yet the girl was leading me through it, as if we were about to die.

"I'm not afraid," I tried to tell her.

"You should be!" she said, pulling me along. She had long dark hair braided down her back. Her silk robes glowed faintly in the starlight.

We raced up the side of the hill. She pulled me behind a thorn bush and we collapsed, both breathing heavily. I didn't know why the girl was scared. The garden seemed so peaceful. And I felt strong. Stronger than I'd ever felt before.

"There is no need to run," I told her. My voice sounded deeper, much more confident. "I have bested a thousand monsters with my bare hands."

"Not this one," the girl said. "Ladon is too strong. You must go around, up the mountain to my father. It is the only way."

The hurt in her voice surprised me. She was really concern, almost like she cared about me.

"I don't trust your father," I said.

"You should not," the girl agreed. "You will have to trick him. But you cannot take the prize directly. You will die!"

I chuckled. "Then why don't you help me, pretty one?"

"I… I am afraid. Ladon will stop me. My sisters, if they found out… they would disown me."

"Then there's nothing for it." I stood up, rubbing my hands together.

"Wait!" the girl said.

She seemed to be agonizing over a decision. Then, her fingers trembling, she reached up and plucked a long white brooch from her hair. "If you must fight, take this. My mother, Pleione, gave it to me. She was a daughter of the ocean, and the ocean's power is within it. _My_ immortal power."

The girl breathed on the pin and it glowed faintly. It gleamed in the starlight like polished abalone.

"Take it," she told me. "And make of it a weapon."

I laughed. "A hairpin? How will this slay Ladon, pretty one?"

"It may not," she admitted. "But it is all I can offer, if you insist on being stubborn."

The girl's voice softened my heart. I reached down and took the hairpin, and as I did, it grew longer and heavier in my hand, until I held a familiar bronze sword.

"Well balanced," I said. "Though I usually prefer to use my bare hands. What shall I name this blade?"

"Anaklusmos," the girl said sadly. "The current that takes one by surprise. And before you know it, you have been swept out to sea."

Before I could thank her, there was a trampling sound in the grass, a hiss like air escaping a tire, and the girl said, "Too late! He is here!"

I sat bolt upright in the Maserati driver's seat. Someone was knocking on the window and I turned to see it was Grover.

I opened the door.

"Percy," he said. "It's morning. The train stopped. Come on!"

I tried to shake off my drowsiness. Thalia, Zoë, and Bianca had already rolled up the metal curtains. Outside where snowy mountains dotted with pine trees, the sun ringed red between two peaks.

I fished out my pen from my pocket and stared at it. _Anaklusmos_ , the Ancient Greek name for Riptide. I remember Hal saying that it along with Thalia's Aegis been locked up in his house since before he was born. Although it's a different form, I'm pretty sure this was the same blade I seen in my dream, and my long time question about it's history ben solved.

And I was sure of two things as well, in my dream I bet I was supposed to be Heracles—which explains why it seem to grew heavy in the mosaic of the twelve task of Heracles—and the girl that helped Heracles was Zoë Nightshade.


	12. Thalia & I Go Snowboarding With a Boar

**A/N:** Certain ancient Greek names matches words use of foul language but no foul language was intentionally used. Also if you haven't read them yet read 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Early Adventures' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief' and 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters' before reading this story. Lastly, any one who wants to do a Demigods and Olympian reads story using 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon' is allowed _as long as_ you inform me about it.

* * *

 **Thalia & I Go Snowboarding With a Pig**

We'd arrived on the outskirts of a little ski town nestled in the mountains. The sign said WELCOME TO CLOUDCROFT, NEW MEXICO. The air was cold and thin. The roofs of the cabins were heaped with snow, and dirty mounds of it were piled up on the sides of the streets. Tall pine trees loomed over the valley, casting-black shadows, though the morning was sunny.

Even with my lion-skin coat, I was freezing by the time we got to Main Street, which was about half a mile from the train tracks. As we walked, I told Grover and Thalia about my conversation with Apollo the night before—how he told me to seek out Nereus in San Francisco.

"If I remember correctly if we catch him, we get to ask one question," Thalia responded.

"That's good, I guess," Grover said looking uneasy. "But we've got to get there first."

"We pulled a close call before," I responded.

"Not against a titan," Grover responded.

That was true. We had some close calls, but we never actually faced a titan before. We had some close calls—as I mention before—but this quest was different.

We stopped in the middle of town. You could pretty much see everything from there: a school, a bunch of tourist stores and cafes, some ski cabins, and a grocery store.

"Great," Thalia said, looking around. "No bus station. No taxis. No car rental. No way out."

"There's a coffee shop!" said Grover.

"Yes," Zoë said. "Coffee is good."

"And pastries," Grover said dreamily. "And wax paper."

Thalia sighed. "Fine. How about you two go get us some food. Percy, Bianca, and I will check in the grocery store. Maybe they can give us directions."

We agreed to meet back in front of the grocery store in fifteen minutes.

Inside the store, we found out a few valuable things about Cloudcroft: there wasn't enough snow for skiing, the grocery store sold rubber rats for a dollar each, and there was no easy way in or out of town unless you had your own car.

"You could call for a taxi from Alamogordo," the clerk said doubtfully. "That's down at the bottom of the mountains, but it would take at least an hour to get here. Cost several hundred dollars."

We didn't have the money for that kind of Taxi ride, but the clerk looked so lonely I bought a rubber rat. Then we headed back outside and stood at the porch."

"Wonderful," Thalia grumped.

"Too bad I don't have my mom's and mine emergency cash card," I responded, "It could pay for the trip here and to San Francisco."

Thalia sighed. "I'm going to walk down the street, see if anybody in the other shops had a suggestion… just incase."

I didn't argue as Thalia left leaving Bianca and me standing there together awkwardly.

"Nice rat," she said at last.

I set it on the porch railing. Maybe it would attract more business for the store.

"So… have you decided to join the Hunters yet?" I asked.

Bianca pursed her lips. "Not yet."

"Well, if you did, I won't blame you," I responded, "The way you worked with Zoë to try and take down the Nemean Lion—it's like you were meant for it."

Bianca smiled. "Thanks. But what about Nico?"

"He'll warm up to it eventually," I responded. "Besides, the camp take in campers like him all the time."

Bianca nodded. "I hope we can find her. Annabeth, I mean. She's lucky to have a friend like you."

"Thanks," I responded. "Annabeth and I practically grew up together, and I do want to save her, and if freeing Artemis is the best way to do it, I'll do whatever it takes to free Artemis."

Bianca nodded in approval. "So you and Annabeth practically grew up together?"

"Since we were seven when she tried to beat me up with a hammer," I responded.

Bianca snorted. "Seriously?"

"She was a runaway at the time—being chased down by monsters. I guess I caught her by surprise because I had separated from Thalia and—a friend of ours to investigate the noise I heard," I responded, "What about you and Nico? Where do you go before Westover?"

She frowned. "I think it was a boarding school in D.C. It seems like so long ago."

"You never lived with your mortal parent?" I asked.

"We were told our parents were dead. There was a bank trust for us. A lot of money, I think. A lawyer would come by once in a while to check on us. Then Nico and I had to leave that school."

"Why?"

She knit her eyebrows. "We had to go somewhere. I remember it was important. We traveled a long way. And we stayed in this hotel for a few weeks. And then… I don't know. One day a different lawyer came to get us out. He said it was time for us to leave. He drove us back east, through D.C. Then up into Maine. And we started going to Westover."

It sounded like a typical Half-Blood story. I mean, yeah it's weird, but hey, I was attacked by a hellhound when I was just seven and had one of the biggest journeys of my life; including the quest for the Master Bolt, the Golden Fleece, and this quest, so who am I to argue.

"So you've been raising Nico pretty much all your life?" I asked. "Just the two of you?"

She nodded. "That's why I'm still deciding whether to join the Hunters or not. If I joined them, I don't have to be the big sister twenty-four hours a day. But after what you said about Camp Half-Blood—well, I just thought I visit and see what they have to offer myself before making my decision. Especially for Nico."

I nodded as it made sense.

Zoë and Grover arrived with the drinks and pastries. Hot chocolate for Bianca and me. Coffee for them. I got a blueberry muffin, which was pretty good.

"We should do the tracking spell," Zoë said. "Grover, do you have any acorns left?"

"Umm," Grover mumbled. He was chewing a bran muffin, wrapper and all. "I think so. I just need to—"

He froze.

I was about to ask what was wrong, when a warm breeze rustled past, like a gust of springtime had gotten lost in the middle of winter. Fresh air seasoned with wildflowers and sunshine. And something else—almost like a voice, trying to say something. A warning.

Zoë gasped. "Grover, thy cup."

Grover dropped his coffee cup, which was decorated with pictures of birds. Suddenly the birds peeled off the cup and flew away—a flock of tiny doves. My rubber rat squeaked. It scampered off the railing into the trees—real fur, real whiskers.

Grover collapsed next to his coffee, which steamed against the snow. We gathered around him and tried to wake him up. He groaned, his eyes fluttering.

"Hey!" Thalia said, running up from the street. "I just… What's wrong with Grover?"

"I don't know, some weird magic happened and then he collapsed," I responded.

"Weird magic? You know what—tell me later. We need to get him up," Thalia said. She had her spear in her hand. She looked behind her as if she were being followed. "We have to get out of here."

…

We made it to the edge of town before two skeleton warriors—spacti I think they're called now—appeared. They stepped from the trees on either side of the road. Instead of gray camouflage, they were now wearing blue New Mexico State Police uniforms, but they had the same transparent gray skin and yellow eyes. They drew their handguns.

Thalia tapped her bracelet. Aegis spiraled to life in her arm, but the warriors didn't flinched. Their glowing yellow eyes bored right into Zoë. My guess is because they were familiar with Zoë's scent.

I drew Riptide, though I wasn't sure what good it would do against spacti.

Zoë and Bianca drew their bows, but Bianca was having trouble because Grover kept swooning and leaning against her.

"Back up," Thalia said.

We started to—but then I heard rustling of branches. Two more Spacti appeared on the road behind us. We were surrounded.

One of the spacti raised a cell phone to his mouth and spoke into it. Except he wasn't speaking. He made a clattering, clicking sound, like dry teeth on bone.

My guess is that the spacti had split up to look for us and now one of them was calling on their brethren. Soon we'd have a full party on our hands.

"It's near," Grover moaned.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"The gift. The gift from the Wild."

 _Wild, as in Pan?_ I thought.

"We'll have to go one-on-one," Thalia sad. "Four of them. Four of us. Maybe they'll ignore Grover that way."

"Agreed," said Zoë.

"The Wild!" Grover moaned.

A warm wind blew through the canyon, rustling the trees, but I kept my eyes on the Spacti.

I charged at a Spactus causing it to fire. When it did, time slowed down. I won't say I could see the bullet, but I could feel its path, the same way I felt water currents in the ocean. I deflected it off the edge of my blade and kept charging.

The skeleton drew a baton and I sliced off his arms at the elbow before I swung Riptide through his waist and cut him in half.

His bones unknit and clattered to the asphalt in a heap. Almost immediately, they began to move, reassembling themselves. The second spactus clattered his teeth at me and tried to fire, but I knock his gun into the snoow.

While I was trying fight the first two spacti off, the other two shot me in the back.

"Percy!" Thalia screamed.

I landed facedown in the street, but not dead. Thanks to the Nemean Lion pelted jacket, instead of killing me, the bullets pushed me.

Thalia charged the second skeleton. Zoë and Bianca started firing arrows at the third and fourth. Grover stood there and held his hands out to the trees, looking like he wanted to hug them.

One spacti lunged at Bianca, and for a second I thought she was a goner, but she whipped out a knife and stabbed the warrior in the chest. The whole skeleton erupted in flames, leaving a little pile of ashes and a police badge.

"How did you do that?" Zoë asked.

"I don't know," Bianca said nervously. "Lucky stab?"

"Well, do it again!"

Bianca tried, but the remaining skeletons were wary of her now. They pressed us back , keeping us at Baton length.

Then, with a mighty roar, a thirty feet high boar with a snotty pink snout and tusk the size canoes came charging through. It back bristled with brown hair and it's eyes were wild and angry.

 _"REEEEEEEEET!"_ it squealed, and raked the three spacti aside with its tusks. The force was so great, they went flying over the trees and into the side of the mountain, where they smashed to pieces, thigh bones and arm bones twirling everywhere.

Then the pig turned on us.

Thalia raised her spear, but Grover yelled, "Don't kill it!"

The boar grunted and pawed the ground, ready to charge.

"That's the Erymanthian Boar," Zoë said, trying to stay stay calm. "I don't think we _can_ kill it."

She's not kidding, I remember the stories. Created by Artemis, successfully captured by Hercules.

"It's a gift," Grover said. "A blessing from the Wild!"

"Pan?" I asked, "Are you talking about Pan?"

The boar said _"REEEEEET!"_ and sung it's tusk. Zoë and Bianca dived out of the way. I had to push Grover so he wouldn't get launched into the mountain on the Boar Tusk Express.

We ran in different directions, and for a moment the boar was confused.

"It wants to kill us!" Thalai said.

"Of course," Grover said. "Said. "It's wild!"

"We need it to plow into thick snow," I responded.

"What?" Bianca responded.

"That's how you stop it," I responded. "If we can stop it, we might be able to use it!"

Of course when I brought that up the boar turned to me as well as Thalia since she was next to me at the moment.

Thalia raised Aegis in defense. However, the sight of Medusa's head made the boar squealed in outrage causing it to charge at us. I summoned a hurricane wall using the snow in defense. It manage to throw the boar back but not stop it.

The Erymanthian Boar tried to break through my Hurricane gale again, this time more resilient. I knew I won't be able to keep up like this up unless we do something.

"Run, now!" I yelled .

We jumped to side and dodge the attack. Thalia and I quickly got up and started running before the boar turned to charge at us. I guess the Medusa head and the hurricane defense angered it to the point it's focus on the two of us.

I found a railroad track half buried. Maybe it will lead to a mountain side or at least something we can use to slow it down.

"Come on!" I told Thalia.

Well the tracks didn't lead to a mountain side but a covered tunnel on the hill side. Past that, an old trestle bridge spanning a gorge. I had a crazy idea, but it was better than hoping to find thick snow in a ski resort with poor skiing areas.

"Follow me!"

Thalia was hesitant about it at first but with a boar about to kill us, I guess she was reluctant to stop.

Thalia and I ran into the tunnel and came out on the other side.

"No!" Thalia screamed.

She turned as white as ice. We were at the edge of the bridge. Below, the mountain dropped away into a snow fill gorge—thick snow filled gorge—about seventy feet below.

"Come on, Thalia," I responded only too see she was frozen in fear. I didn't have time to argue.

The boar charged through the tunnel, coming at us.

With no other choice I took Aegis from Thalia, and grabbed her arm before forcing both of us over the edge into the side of the mountain. I manage to get Aegis bellow us and we landed on it like a snowboard and slid down it. The boar wasn't as fortunate as when it reached the tiny trestle without turning, the trestle buckled under its weight causing the world's biggest boar to free-fall into the gorge causing the snow drift it landed to make a loud _POOOOOF!_

Thalia and I skidded to a stop. We were both breathing hard. I was cut up and bleeding. Thalia had pine needles in her hair. Next to us, the wild oar was squealing and struggling. All I could see was the bristly tip of ts back. It was wedge in the snow, unharmed but not going anywhere.

Since we were out of harms way, I turned to Thalia and asked. "Since when you were scared of heights?"

Thalia didn't look like she was embarrassed just at the thought. "Since The Cyclops lair—Back in Brooklyn eight years ago. After being tied up over a pit of fire ready to be cook—" She stopped but I got the point.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked.

"It's not something I can talk about," Thalia responded.

She had a point. Each Olympian half-blood child has a natural fear that goes with their Olympian parent's history. Athena's kids being afraid of spiders because what happened between Arachne and Athena, Poseidon's kids afraid of flying, even Hephaestus' kids are scared of heights because Zeus or Hera throwing Hephaestus off Mount of Olympus—depending on what story you go by, they all have some kind of history. But for a child of Zeus to be afraid of heights would be like a child of Poseidon being scared of drowning—unheard of.

"Listen, Percy, if you tell anyone—" Thalia responded.

"I get it I won't tell anyone," I responded.

That's when we heard Grover's voice called, "Helloooooo?"

"Down here!" I shouted.

A few minutes later, Zoë, Bianca, and Grover joined us. We stood watching the wild boar struggle in the snow.

"A blessing of the wild," Grover said, though he now looked agitated.

"I agree," Zoë said. "We must use it."

"It shouldn't be too hard now that it's subdue," I responded.

"What do you mean? And how is this beast a blessing?" Bianca asked.

"Let's put it like this, the wind, the boar, not to mention the powerful nature magic that brought the stickers of birds on Grover's cup and my rubber rat to life," I responded, "Lord Pan must have sensed us coming and knew about our quest and decided to help."


	13. Remember Kids, Don't Steal

**A/N:** Certain ancient Greek names matches words use of foul language but no foul language was intentionally used. Also if you haven't read them yet read 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Early Adventures' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief' and 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters' before reading this story. Lastly, any one who wants to do a Demigods and Olympian reads story using 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon' is allowed _as long as_ you inform me about it.

* * *

 **Remember Kids, Don't Steal**

We rode the boar until sunset, which was about as much as my back end could take. Imagine riding a giant steel brush over a bed of gravel all day. That's about how comfortable boar-riding was.

I have no idea how many miles we covered, but the mountains faded into the distance and were replaced by miles of flat, dry land. The grass and scrub brush got sparser until we cross a desert.

As night fell, the boar came to a stop at a creek bed and snorted. He started drinking the muddy water, then ripped a saguaro cactus out of the ground and chewed it, needles and all.

"This is as far as he'll go," Grover said. "We need to get off while he's eating."

Nobody needed convincing. We slipped off the boar's back while he was busy ripping up cacti. Then we waddled away as best we could with our saddle sores. As much as I appreciate Pan for his blessing, I think I'll stick to Pegasus for mystical travel arrangements.

After its third Saguaro and another drink of muddy water, the boar squealed and belched, then whirled around and galloped back toward the cast.

"It likes mountains better," I guessed.

"I can't blame it," Thalia said. "Look."

Ahead of us was a two-lane road half covered with sand. On the other side of the road was a cluster of buildings too small to be a town: a boarded-up house, a taco shop that looked like it hadn't been opened in years, a white stucco post office with a sign that said GILA CLAW ARIZONA hanging crooked above the door. Beyond that was a range of hills… but then I noticed they weren't regular hills. The countryside was way cars, appliances, and the other scrap metal. It was a junkyard that seemed to go on forever.

"Whoa," I said.

"Something tells me we're not going to find a car rental here," Thalia said. She looked at Grover. "I don't suppose you got another wild boar up your sleeve?"

Grover was sniffing the wind, looking nervous. He fished out acorns and threw them into the sand, then play his pipes. They rearrange themselves in a pattern that made no sense to me, but Grover looked concern.

"That's us," he said. "Those five right there. That cluster right there"—Grover pointed to the left. "that's trouble."

"A monster?" Thalia asked.

Grover looked uneasy. "I don't smell anything, which doesn't make sense. But the acorns don't lie."

I frowned. I remember back in the WATERLAND Water Park where Ares send us to get his shield. "Grover, you don't think it's like the Thriller Love Ride do you?"

Thalia Zoë and Bianca looked at me like we were crazy but Grover shrugged. "Maybe. If it is, it's in the junkyard."

…

We decided to camp for the night and try the junkyard in the morning. None of us wanted to go Dumpster-diving in the dark.

Zoë produced five sleeping bags and a foam mattress out of her backpack. My guess is a magical item like her bow and quiver.

The night got chilly fast, so Grover and I collected old boards from the ruined house, and Thalia zapped them with an electric shock to start a campfire. Pretty soon we were as comfy as you can get in a rundown ghost town in the middle of nowhere.

"The stars are out," Zoë said.

She was right. There were millions of them, with no city lights to turn the sky orange.

"Amazing," Bianca said. "I've ever actually seen the Milky Way."

"This is nothing," Zoë said. "In the old days, there were more. Whole constellations have disappeared because of human light pollution."

There was a moment of quiet.

"I sometimes wish I could clean up the sea from all human pollution," I responded. "It seems whenever I'm next to the beach that Hippocampi are always asking for my help with some kind of Human pollution related incident. Just before I ended up going on this quest, I was asked to save a sea creature from being tangled in a fishing net with the fishing boat about to collapse on it."

Grover sighed. "If only Pan were here, he would set things right."

Zoë nodded sadly.

"Maybe it was the coffee," Grover said. "I was drinking coffee, and the wind came. Maybe if I drank more coffee…"

I didn't have the heart to tell him that I didn't think it was the Coffee.

"At least you got the lead you want," I said instead. "Pan must be somewhere in New Mexico."

Grover nodded.

"What I want to know," Thalia said, looking at Bianca, "is how you destroyed one of the zombies. There are a lot more there somewhere. We need to figure out how to fight them."

Bianca shook her head. "I don't know. I just stabbed it and it went up in flames."

"Maybe it has to do with who your Olympian parent is," I responded. "The Oracle said you will be claimed, maybe clue to who your parent is."

"Maybe, but in the mean time, we should plan our next move. When we get through this junkyard, we must continue west. If we can find a road, we can hitchhike to the nearest city. I think that would be Las Vegas."

Grover and I both were about to protest, but Bianca beat us to it.

"No!" she said. "Not there!"

She looked freaked out, like she'd just been dropped off the steep end of a roller coaster.

Zoë frowned. "Why?"

Bianca took a shaky breath. "I… I think we stayed there for a while. Nico and I. When we were traveling. And then, I can't remember…"

Suddenly I had a thought. Something that has to do with Bianca telling me about a hotel she stayed at. I met Grover's eyes, and I got the feeling he was thinking the same thing.

"Bianca," I said. "That hotel you stayed at. Was it possibly called the Lotus Hotel and Casino?"

Her eyes widened. "How could you know that?"

"Oh, great," I said.

"Wait?" Thalia said. "What is the Lotus Casino?"

"It's the modern time location of the Lair of the Lotus eaters," I responded causing Thalia's eye widened, "A couple of years ago; Grover, Annabeth, and I got trapped there during our quest to find and bring back the Master Bolt. It's design so you never want to leave. We stayed there for an hour. When we came out, five days had passed. It's time frame there is just as the Odyssey described it, the time on the island is much slower than the rest of the world."

"No," Bianca said. "No, that's not impossible."

"You said somebody came and got you out," I remembered.

"Yes."

"What did he look like? What did he say?"

"I… I don't remember. Please, I really don't want to talk about this."

Zoë sat forward, her eyebrows knit with concern. "You said that Washington, D.C., had changed when you went back last summer. You didn't remember the subway being there."

"Yes, but—"

"Bianca," Zoë said, "can you tell me the name of the president of the United States right now?"

"Don't be silly," Bianca said, "George W. Bush." ( **A/N:** If my math is correct and I'm right about the year this book take place, President George W. Bush was the president at the time).

"That's right," Grover responded but not convince.

"And who was the president before that?" Zoë asked.

Bianca thought for a while. "Roosevelt."

Zoë swallowed. "Theodore or Franklin?"

"Franklin," Bianca said. "F.D.R."

Now Thalia and I look at each other. Mortal History wasn't exactly my best class in school, but I do know from Camp Half-Blood that F.D.R. was son of Zeus who helped led the allies with Winston Churchill: son of Poseidon against Hades son Adolf Hitler during World War II. In fact, for so many years, I been told that's the reason Zeus Hades and my dad made an oath to have _no more_ children.

"Bianca," Zoë said. "F.D.R. was not the last president. That was about seventy years ago."

"That's impossible," Bianca said. "I… I'm not that old."

She stared at her hands as if to make sure they weren't wrinkled.

Thalia's eyes turned sad. She knew how it feels to be pulled out of time of the regular world for a while. "It's okay, Bianca. The important thing is you and Nico are safe. You made it out."

"Yeah, but who was the man that send for them?" I asked.

Before Bianca could answer, we were hit with a blazing light from down the road. The headlights of a car appeared out of nowhere. We grabbed our sleeping bags and got out of the way as a death white limousine slid to a stop in front of us.

…

The back door of the limo opened right next to me. Before I could step away, the pointing of a sword touched my throat.

I heard Zoë and Bianca draw their bows and Thalia drawing her spear. It didn't take me long to figure who is the owner of the sword.

"It been a long time, Ares," I responded.

I stepped back slowly as Ares came out. Ares still haven't change which was expected from a god. Ares was this big man with a crew cut, a black leather biker's jacket, black jeans, and white muscle shirt, and combat boots. Wrapped-around shades hid his hollow sockets that were filled with fames instead of eyes.

The war god glanced at my friends. "At ease, people."

He snapped his fingers, and their weapons fell to the ground.

"This is a friendly meeting." He dug the point of his blade a little farther under my chin. "Of course I'd _like_ to take your head for a trophy, but someone wants to see you. And I never behead my enemies in front of a lady."

"What lady?" Thalia asked.

Ares looked over at her. "Well, well. I heard you were back."

He lowered his sword and I moved out of the way.

"Thalia, daughter of Zeus," Ares mused. "You're not hanging out with very good company."

"What's your business, Ares," she said. "Who is in the car?"

Ares smiled, enjoying the attention. "Oh, I doubt she wants to meet the rest of you. Particularly not _her_." He jutted his chin toward Zoë.

"It's Aphrodite, isn't it?" I asked.

"That's right, and she requested your audience, Jackson," Ares responded, "Your friends can get some tacos while they wait."

"We'll not leave him alone with thee, Lord Ares," Zoë said.

"Besides," Grover managed. "the taco place is closed."

Ares snapped his fingers again. The lights inside the taqueria suddenly blazed to life. The boards fell off the door and the CLOSED sign flipped to OPEN. "You were saying, goat boy?"

"Go ahead, guys," I responded. "So I should be able to handle this."

"You heard the boy," Ares said.

My friends reluctantly headed over to the taco restaurant. Ares regarded me with loathing then opened the limousine door like a chauffeur.

"Get inside, punk," he said. "And mind your manners. My girlfriend is not as forgiving of rudeness as I am."

 _I don't have any reason to be rude to Aphrodite, unlike you,_ I thought but rather not say out loud as I headed in.

…

First thing to know about Aphrodite, never ask a group of men that seen her what she looks like, because you'll _never_ get a straight answer even from them. See, Aphrodite tends to take the form of what men sees as their ideal dream girl, and no man has the same idea of the ideal girlfriend. But if there's one thing all men who seen Aphrodite will have in common is that they all described her as the world's most beautiful supermodel.

Another thing about Aphrodite is that you cannot argue with her, literally. Aphrodite has this ability called Charm Speak that Charmed people into agreeing to anything she says. Circe had a similar ability, only Aphrodite is more powerful with it. Sometimes I thank gods that only two kids inherit the ability, and that one of them is a good friend of mine who doesn't use it just to get her way.

When I entered the limousine she had blonde hair that curled at the end and stormy gray eyes.

"Ah, there you are, Percy Jackson," Aphrodite greeted. "Nice to see you again."

"Nice too see you again too, Lady Aphrodite," I responded as a sat in the seat across from her.

"Oh, Percy. This isn't a formal meeting, so no need to be so formal," Aphrodite said, "Now hold this for me."

She handed me a polished mirror the size of a dinner plate and had me hold it up for her. She leaned forward and dabbed at her lipstick, which is typical of Aphrodite. Another thing to know about Aphrodite, no matter how beautiful she looks, she's always changing her makeup.

"Do you know why you're here?" she asked.

"Too free Artemis," I responded figuring she was asking about the quest.

"Oh Artemis. _Please_. Talk about a hopeless case. I mean, if they were going to kidnap a goddess, she should be breathtakingly beautiful, don't you think? I pity the poor dears who have to imprison Artemis. Bo-ring!"

"But she was chasing a dangerous monster, which we need to find," I responded trying to make it seem convincing, "Plus I would think they captured her because they hold the key to get her to do what they want."

I heard Ares chuckled outside.

Aphrodite made me hold the mirror a little higher and added her mascara. "Hmm, you make a good point about holding the key against her, but still. They could have done better. But Percy, my dear, Artemis is why the others are on this quest. I'm more interested in _you_."

"Me?" I asked.

"Don't hide it from me. I know you want to save Annabeth," Aphrodite responded.

I tried to keep my cool, but I felt like I was hit by a ton of bricks.

"No need to hide your feelings, Percy. I know how you truly feel about Annabeth, even if you don't think you do," Aphrodite responded. "That's why I've been helping you out."

"Say what?" I asked.

"The poisoned T-shirt the Stoll brothers gave Phoebe," she said. "Did you think that was an an accident? Sending Blackjack to find you? Helping you sneak out of camp?"

" _You_ did that?"

"Of course! Because really, how boring these Hunters are! A quest for some monster, blah blah blah. Saving Artemis. Let her stay lost, I say. But a quest for true love—"

"Wait a second, I never said—"

"Oh, my dear. You don't need to say it. You _do_ know Annabeth was close to joining the Hunters, don't you? She was about to throw her life away! And you, my dear, you can save her from that. It's so romantic!"

"Uh…"

"Oh, put the mirror down," Aphrodite ordered. "I look fine."

I didn't argue since my arms were sore.

"Now listen, Percy," Aphrodite said. "The Hunters are your enemies. Forget them and Artemis and the monster. That's not important. You just concentrate on finding and saving Annabeth. It been a ages since we've had a good tragic love story."

"Whoa, first of all, I never said anything about love," I responded. "And what's up with _tragic_?"

"Love conquers all," Aphrodite promised. "Look at Helen and Paris. Did they let anything come between them?"

"They started the Trojan war and got thousands of people killed," I responded.

"Pfft. That's not the point. Follow your heart, even if you don't know where it's going," Aphrodite said. "Exquisitely painful isn't it? Not being sure who you love and who loves you? Oh, you kids! It's so cute I'm going to cry. But I'm not going to let this be easy and boring for you. No, I have some wonderful surprises in store. Anguish. Indecision. Oh, you just wait."

"Um—you don't really need to go through any trouble," I responded.

"You're so cute. I wish all my daughter could break the heart of a boy as nice as you." Aphrodite's eyes were tearing up. "Now, you better go. And do be careful in my husband's territory, Percy. Don't take anything. He is awfully fussy about his trinkets and trash."

I figured she was referring to Hephaestus and I can see him being like that, because his children are very protective of their designs.

The car door opened and Ares grabbed my shoulder, pulling me out of the car and back into the desert night.

My audience with the goddess of love was over, not that I'm complaining.

…

"You're lucky punk." Ares pushed me away from the limo. "Be grateful. If it wasn't for the word going around that you might start the biggest war in history, and Aphrodite thinks you're some kinda soap-opera star or something, I would kill you right here and now. But remember my promise two years ago. Some day soon, kid— _real_ soon—you're going to raise your sword to fight, and you're going to remember the wrath of Ares."

"Yeah, yeah," I responded.

Ares snapped his fingers and the world did a three-sixty, spinning in a cloud of red dust. I fell to the ground.

When I stood up again, the limousine was gone. The road, the taco restaurant, the whole town of Gila Claw was gone. My friends and I were standing in the middle of the junkyard, mountains of scrap metal stretched out in every direction.

"What did she _want_ with you?" Bianca asked, once I told them about Aphrodite.

"It's complicated that I rather not get into," I responded, "However, she did warned me to be careful in Hephaestus' junkyard. She said not to pick anything up."

Zoë narrowed her eyes. "Be careful, Percy. Aphrodite has led many heroes astray."

"For once I agree with Zoë," Thalia responded, "You can't trust Aphrodite."

"Believe me, I know the stories," I responded. "We better get out of here. Now, where's Ursa Major."

"Over there," Zoë pointed to the cluster of stars before pointing left side of the sky from it, "Which means we need to go that way."

"Guys," Grover broke in. "Look!"

We'd reached the crest of a junk mountain. Piles of metal objects glinted in the moonlight: broken heads of bronze horses, metal legs from human statues, smashed chariots, tons of shields and swords and other weapons, along with other modern stuff, like cars that gleamed gold and silver, refrigerators, washing machines, and computer monitors.

"Whoa," Bianca said. "That stuff… some of it looks like real gold."

"It is," Thalia said grimly. "Like Percy said, don't touch anything. This is the junkyard of the gods."

"One more thing," I said as I uncapped riptide and recap the end so it take form of a regular ball point pen. I drew the Ancient Greek symbol for Etna on the palm of my hand—which glowed since my pen is still magical.

"Since this junkyard has some of Hephaestus' trinkets, we should keep an eye out for the ancient Greek Symbol of Etna, which looks like this, Bianca"—I showed her the symbol I drew—"There could be a chance that one of his trinkets can still be activated without us taking anything—especially anything left over from his booby traps that might have been damaged or gone berserk."

"Hephaestus sets up booby traps" Bianca asked.

"Whenever Aphrodite cheats on Hephaestus with Ares, if Hephaestus finds out the location they're going to on their date beforehand, he sets up a booby trap to humiliate them," Zoë responded. "Any trinkets of Hephaestus that might still be workable is another reason we shouldn't touch _anything_."

No one argued against that.

We started picking our way through the hills and valleys of junk The stuff seemed to go on forever, and if it hadn't been for Ursa Major, we would've gotten lost.

Although everything looked like basically junk, but I kept my eye out for the symbol of Hephaestus. I would think that Hephaestus use some of his malfunctioning yet lethal stuff guarding this place.

Finally, we saw the edge of the junkyard about half a mile ahead of us, the lights of a highway stretching through the desert. But between us and the road.

"What is that?" Bianca gasped.

Ahead of us was a hill much bigger and longer than the others. It was like a metal mesa, the length of a football field and as tall as goalposts. At one end of the mesa was a row of ten thick metal columns wedged tightly together.

Bianca frowned "They look like—"

"Toes," Grover said.

Bianca nodded. "Really, really large toes."

Zoë and Thalia exchanged nervous looks, and I think I know why. It's possible that this—whatever it is—is an Automaton: a magical robotic machine—or at least a prototype.

"Let's go around," Thalia said. " _Far_ around."

"Yeah," I agreed.

Ping.

Thalia hefted her spear, Zoë drew her bow, and I reached for my pen only to find out it was only Grover. He had thrown a piece of scrap metal at the toes and hit one, making a deep echo, as if the column were hollow.

"Why did you do that?" Zoë demanded.

Grover cringed. "I don't know. I, uh, don't like fake feet?"

"Come on," Thalia ordered, _"Around."_

I didn't argue. Automatons are known to be unpredictable to begin with, and one being in the junkyard of the gods made me nervous.

After several minutes of walking, we finally stepped onto the highway, an abandoned but well-lit stretched of black asphalt.

"We made it out," Zoë said. "Thank gods."

But apparently the gods didn't want to be thanked. At that moment, I heard a sound like a thousand trash compactors crushing metal.

I whirled around. Behind us, the scrap mountain was boiling, rising up. A giant bronze Automaton in full Greek Armor. He was impossibly tall—a skyscraper with legs and arms. He gleamed wickedly in the moonlight. He looked down at us, and his face was deformed. The left side was partially melted off. His joints creaked with rust, and across his armor chest, written in thick dust by some giant finger, were the words WASH ME.

"Talos!" Zoë gasped.

"It must be a prototype," Thalia said, "A defective model."

The metal giant Talos didn't like the word _defective_.

He moved one hand to his sword belt and drew his weapon. The sound of it coming out of its sheath was horrible, metal screeching against metal. The blade was a hundred feet long, easy. It looked rusty and dull, but I doubt that matter. Getting hit with that thing would be like getting it with a battleship

"Someone took something," Zoë said. "Who took something?"

She stared accusingly at me.

"I'm not the thief!" I responded.

Bianca didn't say anything. I could swear she looked guilty, but I didn't have much time to think about it because Talos took one step toward us, closing half the distance and making the ground shake.

"Run!" Grover yelped.

We split up, the way we'd done with the Nemean Lion. Thalia drew her shield and held it up as she ran down the highway. The giant swung and took out a row of power lines, which exploded in sparks scattering across Thalia's path.

Zoë arrows whistled toward the creature's face but shattered harmlessly against the metal. Grover brayed like a baby goat and went climbing up the mountain of metal.

Bianca and I ended up next to each other, hiding behind a broken chariot.

"What did you take?" I asked.

Before she could answer, I heard a massive creaking noise, and a shadow blotted out of the sky.

Before I had a chance to respond, Bianca grabbed my shoulders and we seemed to have melted into the shadows of its foot. I had no clue what happened after that with an exception of the fact we were on the otherside of the mound of junk.

"How did you do that?" I asked.

"I don't know—I just grab you to pull you out of the way and it happened," Bianca responded.

Grover played a quick melody on his pipes. Over at the highway, the downed power lines began to dance. One of the poles with the power lines still attached few at Talos's back leg and sent a jolt of electricity up the giant's backside.

Talos whirled around creaking and sparking. Grover had bought us a few seconds. It started coming at Grover.

Thalia shot electricity from her spear at Talos' rusty knee, which buckled. The giant collapsed but immediately started to rise again.

Talos raised his foot to stomp and I saw that his sol was treaded like the bottom sneaker. There was a whole in his heal, like a manhole, and there were red words painted around it, which I decipher only after the foot came down: FOR MAITENANCE ONLY.

An idea came to my mind.

"Bianca, when I tell you, I need you to focus on melting us into the shadows next to that hole in Talos' foot," I told Bianca.

Bianca looked and seem to understand but frowned. "I don't—"

"Just concentrate on the idea," I responded. I know, it was a wild idea, but I prayed to whatever god or goddess whose domain involved shadows that this worked.

Bianca nodded and grabbed my shoulder. I waited to just as Talos began to take a step.

"Now!" I responded.

I couldn't tell if Bianca was concentrating really hard or not but before as Talos was about to step down we melted into the shadow of junk mountain and formed out of the shadow under Talos' feet—right where the maintenance hole.

"Get out of here!" I responded.

"What?" Bianca responded.

"Just go!"

Bianca reluctantly moved out of the way.

I positioned myself so when Talos stepped down I was inside the hole.

…

I must say, it took me a while to get inside the mainframe of the metal giant, but once I did I found myself in a clustered of controls and wires.

 _Athena, if you can hear me, I need some of your wisdom_ , I thought.

I didn't know why I prayed to Athena, or why she would listen. Maybe because Hephaestus was angry that Bianca for taking whatever she took. Maybe Athena was willing to do indirectly help us save her daughter. But after I prayed I got my answer from a female voice:

 _The power source should be behind you._

I looked over and saw a series of convenient wires—to convenient. I moved over and yanked them away just to find a panel that looked like apartment buildings use to control the electricity in the apartment.

I opened it half expecting there be switches, but instead there was a series of wires surrounding what looked like a cd player built into the panel but with the lid removed from it. In it was one disc.

 _Pull the disc out and Talos will shut down._

I didn't have time to argue as I know if I didn't act soon Talos would kill my friends.

I grabbed the disc and yanked it out, which wasn't really necessary as it turned out it was easy.

Sure enough, the moment I yanked it out Talos started shutting down. I quickly headed to the maintenance hole and climbed out.

I manage to reach the end and found that I was several yards in the air. I uncapped my thermos before I dropped down. I summoned a water blast from my thermos to the ground to softened my fall before I landed safely.

Everyone surrounded me.

"Percy! That was amazing! How did you do that?" Grover asked.

I took the disc in my pocket. "This was apparently what kept Talos running."

"A control disc," Zoë said, "Old fashion power source for Automatons."

"Okay, that answered how Percy took down Talos, but how on earth did Bianca teleport through shadows?" Thalia asked.

"I think I know," I responded.

But before I could continue there was a mixture of gray and bronze light shining above Bianca's head. We looked and I almost forgot how to breath. Above her head was a bronze helmet surrounded with shadows around it. I seen the helmet before, two years ago, when I had to retrieve it from Ares: The helm of darkness.

"Wha—what is that?" Bianca asked.

"The helm of darkness—" I spoke.

Just as I said that, Bianca started melting in the shadows.

"No, wait! Bianca!" I responded.

But it was too late, Bianca had melted into her own shadow and disappeared leaving a metal figurine from Nico's Mythomagic, a figurine of a god I recognized: Hades.

 _One will be claimed in land of no rain,_ Oracle's words echoed through my mind.

 _I can't shake this feeling that when Bianca and I get claimed, we'll be hated_ , I remembered Nico's warning.

Now I understand why. Hades is the most feared and most hated Olympian, and his kids in the past tend to ended up being as dark as him. And Bianca and Nico were his kids.


	14. I Face Troubles at Hoover Dam

**A/N:** Certain ancient Greek names matches words use of foul language but no foul language was intentionally used. Also if you haven't read them yet read 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Early Adventures' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief' and 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters' before reading this story. Lastly, any one who wants to do a Demigods and Olympian reads story using 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon' is allowed _as long as_ you inform me about it.

Now about the last chapter. Bianca isn't dead, but she IS no longer part of the quest to rescue Artemis.

Also About Percy removing the control disc in Talos, I thought of using the idea of removing the control disc considering most of Festus function when he first was a automaton dragon was through a control disc. But I didn't want to make it as simple as climbing on a giant automaton's back to get to it, so I decided to use that Maintenance hole on Talos my advantage

Lastly, I still plan to have Hazel be part of the Heroes of Olympus because I want there at least be three Romans involved in the prophecy of seven and to keep the idea of there being one half-blood child of each of the Big Three. I will think of a way to bring her into the story when I come to it.

* * *

 **I Face Troubles at Hoover Dam**

( **WARNING:** Due to the use of Homonyms _any_ jokes or puns at this chapter must not be used in real life unless those around you know what you're referring to as part of the pun)

At the edge of the dump, we found a tow truck so old it might've been thrown away itself. But the engine started, and it had a full tank of gas, so we decided to borrow it.

Thalia volunteered to drive. Despite being as confused and stunned as the rest of us that Bianca was the daughter of Hades, she kept a cool head.

"The skeletons are still out there," she reminded us. "We need to keep moving."

She navigated us through the desert, under clear blue skies, the sand so bright it hurt to look at. Zoë sat up front with Thalia. Grover and I sat in the pickup bed, leaning against a tow wench.

My hand closed around the tiny figurine of Hades. I don't know why I brought it with me. Maybe to bring it to Nico since it was now obvious why she took it. The kid did love Mythomagic.

"I still can't believe Hades broke his oath," Grover said.

"He didn't," I responded, "remember, Bianca and Nico been in the Lotus Casino for decades. And since Bianca thought F.D.R. was the last president, I won't be surprise they been there since before the Oath was made," I responded.

"Still," Grover responded, "You know Zeus won't like it. I mean, Bianca and Nico both are canidates for the prophecy."

"Yeah, but so is Thalia and me, and we're closer to sixteen than them," I responded.

We decided not to talk about it any more. At least Bianca wasn't dead.

…

The tow truck ran out of gas at the edge of a river canyon. That was just as well, because the road dead-ended.

Thalia got out and slammed the door. Immediately, one of the tires blew. "Great. What now?"

I scanned the horizon. There wasn't much to see. Desert in all directions, occasional clumps of barren mountains plopped here and there. The canyon was the only thing interesting. The river itself wasn't very big, maybe fifty yards across, green water with a few rapids, but it carved a huge scar out of the desert. The rock cliffs dropped away below us.

"There's a path," Grover said. "We could get to the river."

I tried to see what he was talking about, and finally noticed a tiny ledge winding down the cliff face. "That's a goat path," I said.

"So?" he asked.

"The rest of us aren't goats or satyrs," I responded.

"We can make it," Grover said. "I think."

I looked over at Thalia and saw how pale she'd gotten. She was still terrified of heights. I thought back how scared I was just at the thought of going up in the attic of the big house—scared at the thought what happened to Luke's mom would happen to me. For five years I avoided the attic until I had to go on the quest for Zeus' master bolt, but the memory of what happened to Luke's mom when she went into the attic still haunts me.

"No," I said. "We should go farther upstream."

Grover said, "But—"

"Come on," I said. "A walk won't hurt us."

I glanced at Thalia. Her eyes said a quick _Thank you_.

We followed the river about half a mile before coming to an easier slope that led down to the water. On the shore was a canoe rental operation that was closed for the season. I left a stack of drachmas on the counter and a note saying _IOU_ _two canoes._

"We need to go up stream," Zoë said. It was the first time I'd heard her speak since the junkyard and she sounded like somebody with the flu. "The rapids are too swift."

"Leave that to me," I said. We put the canoes in the water.

Thalia pulled me aside as we were getting the oars. "Thanks for back there."

"That's what friends are for," I responded.

"Are you sure you can control this current?" Thalia asked.

"Well, I was thinking of something more practical to save strength incase we run into trouble," I responded.

Thalia looked at me with a questionable expression but decided to shrug it off.

"Would you take Zoë?" she asked. "I think, ah, maybe you can talk to her."

"She's not going to like that."

"Please? I don't know if I can stand being in the same boat with her. She's… she's starting to worry me."

"Fine," I responded. "There's something I need to ask her anyways."

"About the alliance?" Thalia asked.

"That—and other things," I responded.

Thalia smiled, which made me glad. It seemed that ever since Thalia was brought back to us, she hardly smile—at least, not as much as she used to.

Thalia turned and help Grover get their canoe into the water

I turned to the water and took out two of my sand dollars.

"Here's some payment to a couple of any naiads willing to help me move the canoe upstream," I said as I tossed two sand dollars into the river. Normally Naiads are willing to help me for free but it seemed only right to pay the Naiads push our canoes the opposite direction of their river.

Sure enough naiads—elfish girls that lives in the river—appeared in the banks with smiles that told me they were willing to help and thanks for the payment.

As soon as we got into the water, the Naiads chose a canoe and begun pushing us up stream so fast Grover fell into his canoe with his hooves sticking up in the air.

"I hate naiads," Zoë grumbled.

A stream of water squirted up from the back of the boat and hit Zoë in the face. Zoe reached for her bow.

"Whoa! Relax! Remember, they're helping us," I responded.

"Curse water spirits. They've never forgiven me."

"Forgiven you for what?"

She slung her bow back over her shoulder. "It was a long time ago. Never mind."

We sped up the river, the cliffs looming up on either side of us.

"You shouldn't worry about Bianca," I said, "She's a good person. If there's any possible chance a child of Hades don't turn on us for her father or the Titan Lord, it's her."

Zoë's shoulders slumped. "I hope you're right. I had hopes she would join the hunt. She was a powerful half-blood and kind. I…I thought she would be the next lieutenant."

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

She gripped the strap of her quiver. She looked more tired that I'd ever seen her. "Nothing can last forever, Percy. Over two thousand years I have led the Hunt, and my wisdom has not improved. Now Artemis herself is in danger. If I had insisted on going with her—"

"Chances are you would have been kidnapped along with Artemis or worse," I responded.

Zoë didn't answer.

The cliffs along the river were getting taller. Long shadows fell across the water, making it a lot colder, even though the day was bright.

Without thinking about it, I took Riptide out of my pocket. Zoë looked at the pen, and her expression was pained.

"You made this," I said.

"Who told the?"

"I had a dream vision about it."

She studied me and sighed. "It was a gift. And a mistake."

"Your mother was a water goddess?" I asked.

"Yes, Pleione. She had five daughters. My sisters and I. The Hesperides."

"You were one of the Hesperides?" I asked.

"Not any more. I was exiled. Forgotten. Blotted out as if I never existed, all because I betrayed my family and helped a hero. What's worse is he never spoke of me after the sacrifice I made. After his direct assault on Ladon failed, I gave him the idea how to steal the apples, how to trick my father, but _he_ took all the credit."

I gripped Riptide.

"Well, I think me finding Riptide and the last line of the Prophecy is the fates way of trying to tell us—something," I responded.

"You mean the alliance between campers and hunters, don't thee?" Zoë asked.

"How?"

"It doesn't take much to piece it together," Zoë responded, "But I question if thee willing to continue trying after thy conversation with Aphrodite."

"Aphrodite tried to discourage me, but I know freeing Artemis is our best chance to save Annabeth and stop the General," I responded, "We can worry about keeping the alliance after the quest, but for now, let's focus on keeping the alliance to free Artemis."

"That I'll agree too," Zoë responded.

 _Gurgle, gurgle,_ the naiad spoke in my mind. The canoe was slowing down.

I looked ahead, and I saw why.

This is as far as they could take us. The river was blocked. A dam the size of a football stadium stood in our path.

…

"Hoover Dam," Thalia said. "It's huge."

We stood at the river's edge looking up at a curved of concrete that loomed between the cliffs. People were walking along the top of the dam. They were so tiny they looked like fleas.

The naiads had left with a lot of grumbling—not in words I could understand, but it was obvious they hated this dam blocking up their nice river. Our canoes floated back downstream, swirling in the wake from the dam's discharge vents.

"Seven hundred feet tall," I said. "Built in the 1930s."

"Five hundred million cubic acres of water," Thalia said.

Grover sighed. "Largest construction project in the United States."

Zoë stared at us. "How do you know all that?"

"Annabeth," I said. "She likes architectures."

"She was nuts about monuments," Thalia said.

"Spouted facts all the time." Grover sniffled. "So annoying."

"I wish she were here," I said.

The others nodded. Zoë was still looking at us strangely, but I didn't care. It seemed like cruel fate that we'd come to Hoover Dam, one of Annabeth's personal favorites, and she wasn't here to see it.

"We should go up there," I said, "For her sake. Just to say we've been."

"You are mad," Zoë decided. "But that's where the road is." She pointed to a huge parking garage next to the top of the dam. "And so, sightseeing it is."

…

We had to walk for almost an hour before we found a path that led up to the road. It came up on the east side of the river. Then we straggled back toward the dam. It was cold and windy on top. On one side, a big lake spread out, ringed by barren desert mountains. On the other side, the dam dropped away like the world's most dangerous skateboard ramp, down to the river seven hundred feet below, and water churned from the dam's vents.

Thalia walked in the middle of the road, far away from the edges. Grover kept sniffing the wind and looking nervous. He didn't say anything, but I knew he smelled monsters. I also know the wind on the dam in a desert might be making it hard for him to locate the source.

What made me most worried is that we only had two days until winter solstice, and we still had a long way to go. We didn't need any more monsters.

"There's a snack bar in the visitor center," Thalia said.

"You been here before?" I asked.

"It was before I met you and Luke. I came here to see the guardians." She pointed to the far end of the dam. Carved into the side of the cliff with a little plaza with two bronze statues. They looked kind of like Oscar statues with wings.

"They were dedicated to Zeus when the dam was built," Thalia said. "A gift from Athena."

Tourist were clustered all around them. They seemed to be looking at the statues' feet, some were even rubbing their toes.

"Are they rubbing the statues' toes?" I asked.

"One of Mortals crazy ideas," Thalia responded, "They don't know the statues are sacred to Zeus, but they know there's something special about them."

"Did they talk to you back then?" I asked.

Thalia's expression darkened. "No. They don't do anything. They're just big metal statues. The only time Zeus ever helped me after I ran away was when he led me to Luke and then led me to Hal's place."

"Let us find the dam snack bar," Zoë said. "We should eat while we can."

Grover cracked a smile. "The dam snack bar?"

Zoë blinked. "Yes. What is funny?"

"Nothing," Grover said, trying to keep a straight face. I could use some dam French fries."

Even Thalia smiled at that. "And I need to use the dam restroom."

Maybe it was the fact that we were so tired and strung out emotionally, but I started cracking up, and Thalia and Grover joined in, while Zoë just looked at us. "I do not understand."

"I want to use the dam fountain," Grover said.

"And…" Thalia tried to catch her breath. "I want to buy a dam T-shirt."

I busted up, and I probably would've kept laughing all day, but I heard a noise:

"Moooo."

The smile melted off my face. I wondered if the noise was just in my head, but Grover had stopped laughing too. He was looking around, confused. "Did I just head a cow?"

"A dam cow?" Thalia laughed.

"No," Grover said. "I'm serious."

Zoë listened. "I hear nothing."

Thalia was looking at me. "Percy, are you okay?"

"Yeah," I said. "I need a minute to think. You guys go ahead, I'll use the empathy link if I run into trouble."

They hesitated, but I guess I must've looked upset, because they finally went into the visitor center without me. As soon as they were gone, I jogged to the north edge of the dam and looked over.

"Moo."

It was about thirty feet below in the lake, but I could see her clearly: my friend from Long Island Sound, the cow serpent.

I look around. There were groups of kids running along the dam. A lot of senior citizens. Some families. But nobody seemed to be paying the creature any attention yet.

"What are you doing here?" I asked it.

"Moo!'

Its voice was urgent, like it was trying to warn me of something.

"How did you get here?" I asked. We were thousands of miles from Long Island, hundreds of miles inland. There was no way she could've swum all the way here. Was this some kind of ability it has?

The cow serpent swam in circle and butted its head against the side of the dam. "Moo!"

It wanted me to come with it. The cow serpent was telling me to hurry.

"I can't," I responded, "My friends are inside."

The cow-serpent looked at me with its sad brown eyes. Then it gave one more urgent "Mooo!," did a flip, and disappeared into the water."

I hesitated. Something was wrong. It was trying to tell me that. I considered jumping over the side and following it, but then I tensed. The hairs on my arms bristled. I looked down the dam road to the east and saw two men walking slowly toward me. They wore gray camouflage outfits that flickered over skeletal bodies: _Spactus_.

They passed through a group of kids and pushed them aside. A kid yelled, "Hey!" One of the Spactus turned, his face changing momentarily into a skull.

"Ah!" the kid yelled, and his whole group backed away.

I focused on opening the empathy link as I backed toward the visitor center. _Grover, trouble._

I was almost to the stairs when I heard tires squeal. On the west side of the dam, a black van swerved to a stop in the middle of the road, nearly plowing into some old people.

The van doors opened and more _Spacti_ warriors piled out. I was surrounded.

 _Major trouble! Spacti!_

I bolted down the stairs and through the museum entrance. The security guard at the metal detector yelled, "Hey, kid!" But I didn't stop.

I ran though the exhibits and ducked behind tour group. I looked for my friends, but I couldn't see them anywhere. Gods, I hope Grover got my message.

"Stop!" the metal-detector guy yelled.

There was no place to go but into an elevator with a tour group. I send a message to Grover as I ducked inside just as the door closed.

"We'll be going down seven hundred feet," our tour guide/park ranger said cheerfully with a voice that sounded familiar. She had long black hair pulled back in a ponytail. She glanced at me and behind her glasses I noticed that she had stormy gray eyes—just like Annabeth and her siblings in Cabin Six.

 _Athena_ , I thought happily.

I never been happier in my life to see Annabeth's mother. Especially after she helped me with Talos.

The doors opened.

"Go right ahead, folks," Athena told us. "Another ranger is waiting for you at the end of the corridor."

I had doubts that I was anywhere near the dam gift shop, but I decided to follow the group to buy me time to contact Grover.

Before I left Athena grabbed my shoulder and whispered. "There's always a way out for those clever enough to find it."

I nodded. "Thanks for everything."

She nodded approvingly as the doors closed with the tour guide still inside.

I opened up the empathy link as wide as it can go and yelled mentally. _GROVER_.

I didn't see him but I have a strong sense that I caused him to fell out of his chair.

 _Now that I got your attention, I'm in the dam turbines with spacti are somewhere in the dam_ —

The second elevator around the corner _ding_ and heard the clattering of skeleton teeth.

 _Never mind, they're in the dam turbines. Meet me near the elevators!_

I ran after the tour group, through a tunnel carved out of solid rock. It seemed to run forever. The walls were moist, and the air hummed with electricity and the roar of water. I came out of a U shape balcony that overlooked this huge warehouse area. Fifty feet below, enormous turbines were running. It was a big room, and not many escape routes that I can find.

I worked my way around the crowd, using the Mist around the mortals so they ignore me. There was a hallway at the other side of the balcony. I kept one hand on Riptide and the other near my thermos, ready to attack when ready.

By time I got to the opposite side of the balcony, my nerves were shot. I backed into the little hallway and watched the tunnel I'd come from.

Then right behind me I heard a sharp _Chhh!_ That resembled the voice of the skeleton.

Without thinking, I uncapped Riptide and spun, slashing my sword.

The girl I'd just tried to slice in half yelped and dropped her Kleenex.

"Oh my god!" she shouted. "Do you always kill people when they blow their nose?"

Well, since my sword went through her without killing her, I take it she was mortal.

"How did you get that sword past security?"

"Wait, you can see it's a sword?" I asked.

The girl rolled her eyes, which were green like mine. She had frizzy reddish-brown hair. Her nose was also red, like she had a cold. She wore a big maroon Harvard sweatshirt and jeans that were covered with marker stains and little holes, like she spent her free time poking them with a fork.

"Well, it's either a sword or the biggest toothpick in the world," she said. "And why didn't it hurt me? I mean, not that I'm complaining. Who are you? And whoa, what is that you're wearing? Is that made of lion fur?"

She asked so many questions so fast it was like she was throwing rocks at me. One thing did came clear, she—like my mom—was a mortal who could see through the Mist, which meant that any Mist manipulation won't work.

"Look, I'm sorry for trying to kill you, miss—"

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare," she stated.

"Right—sorry Rachel for slashing at you, but right now I'm in a bit of tight spot and I thought you blowing your nose was something else," I responded

She looked at me like I'm crazy, but then she must have saw something else because her eyes widened "Bathroom! Behind me! Now!"

I had a good feeling why she said that and I headed off to slip inside the boys' bathroom and left Rachel Elizabeth Dare standing outside.

I heard clattering and hissing sounds of spacti as they came closer.

My grip tightened Riptide. I hope she knows what she's doing. Otherwise both of us might be good as dead.

Then again, my mom can see through the Mist, and for seven years, she did a good job hiding it from me while keeping me safe.

Rachel started talking in that rapid-fire machine gun way of hers.

"Oh my god! Did you see that kid? It's about time you got here. He tried to kill me! He had a sword, for god's sake. You security guys let a sword-swinging lunatic inside a national landmark? I mean, jeez! He ran that way toward those turbine thingies. I think he went over the side or something. Maybe he fell."

The skeletons clattered excitedly. I heard them moving off.

Rachel opened the door. "All clear. But you'd better hurry."

She looked shaken. Her face was gray and sweaty.

"Thanks, Rachel Elizabeth Dare. I owe you one."

"What are those things?" she asked. "They looked like—"

"Skeletons?"

She nodded uneasily.

"Listen carefully," I told her, "Don't tell _anyone_ what you just saw. Act casual like what just happened never did, and you'll be fine."

"Including you trying to kill me/"

"Yeah. That, too."

"But who are you?"

"Percy—" I started to say. Then the skeleton turned around. "Gotta go!"

"What kind of name is Percy Gotta-go?"

I bolted for the exit.

…

Zoë Thalia and Grover were waiting for me at the elevator doors on top, eating their dam lunch that they got to go.

"What took you?" asked Zoë.

"I'll explain later, we need to get out of here!" I said.

No one argued as we raced toward the road. However, we didn't get very far as the spacti that were at the parking lot blocked our way, taking aim at us.

"Turn back around!" Thalia said.

We turned only to see more spacti coming out of the elevators right toward us.

"Four against eleven," Zoë muttered. "And _they_ cannot die."

"It's been nice adventuring with you guys," Grover said, his voice trembling.

 _There's always a way out for those clever enough to find it,_ Athena's advice ran through my head

I glanced at the statues next to us. Mortals rubbed their feet for good luck, and they're supposed to be a blessing from Zeus—

 _Just like Amalthea_ , I thought.

"Thalia," I said. "Pray to your dad."

She looked at me like I'm crazy. "What?"

"Those statues are like Amalthea, but they won't act unless you pray to your dad!" I responded.

"Who says?"

"Athena!" I responded.

Now Thalia must have thought I have lost it

"Try it," Grover pleaded.

Thalia closed her eyes. Her lips moved in a silent prayer. I put in my own prayer to Annabeth's mom.

Nothing happened. The spacti closed in. I raised Riptide to defend myself. Thalia held up her shield. Zoë pushed Grover behind her and aimed an arrow at a spactus' head.

A shadow flew over me with enormous wings. The skeleton looked up too late. A flash of bronze and all five of the spacti were swept aside.

The other spacti open fired and a bronze angel stepped in front of us and folded their wings like shields. Bullets pinged off them like rain off a corrugated roof. Both angels slashed outward, and the skeletons went flying across the road.

"Man, it feels good to stand up!" the first angel sad. His voice sounded tinny and rusty, like he hadn't had a drink since he'd been built.

"Will ya look at my toes?" the other said. "Holy Zeus, what were those tourist thinking?"

I glanced at the spacti. A few of them were getting up again, reassembling, bony hands groping for their weapons.

"Trouble!" I said.

"Get us out of here!" Thalia yelled.

Both angels look down at her. "Zeus' kid?"

"Yes!"

"Could I get a _please_ , Miss Zeus' Kid?" an angel asked.

"Please!"

The angels looked at each other and shrugged.

"Could use a stretch," one decided.

And the next thing I knew, one of them grabbed Thalia and me, the other grabbed Zoë and Grover, and we flew straight up, over the dam and river, the spacti shrinking to tiny specks below us and the sound of gunfire echoing off the sides of the mountains.


	15. I Made an Oath of Dept on the Styx

**A/N:** Certain ancient Greek names matches words use of foul language but no foul language was intentionally used. Also if you haven't read them yet read 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Early Adventures' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief' and 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters' before reading this story. Lastly, any one who wants to do a Demigods and Olympian reads story using 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon' is allowed _as long as_ you inform me about it.

Sorry for any misspelling in the last chapter with the Spacti. I tried to spell them right, but I guess I hit the wrong keys. I tried to fix it, but I can't promise it was effective.

* * *

 **I Made an Oath of Dept on the Styx**

"Tell me when it's over," Thalia said. Her eyes were shut tight. The statue was holding on to us so we couldn't fall, but still Thalia clutched his arm like it was the most important thing in the world.

"Everything's fine," I promised.

"Are…are we very high?"

I looked down. Below us, a range of snowy mountains zipped by. I stretched out my foot and kicked snow off one of the peaks.

"Nah," I said. "Not that high."

"We are in the Sierras!" Zoë yelled. She and Grover were hanging from the arms of the other statue. "I have hunted here before. At this speed, we should be in San Francisco in a few hours."

"Hey, hey, Frisco!" our angel said. "Yo, Chuck! We could visit those guys at the Mechanics Monument again! They know how to party!"

"Oh, man," the other angel said. "I am _so_ there!"

"You guys have visited San Francisco?" I asked.

"We automatons gotta have some fun once in a while, right?" our statue said. "Those mechanics took us over to the de Young Museum and introduced us to these marble ladies, see. And—"

"Hank!" the other statue Chuck cut in. "They're kids, man."

"Oh, right." If bronze statues could blush, I swear Hank did. "Back to flying."

We sped up, so I could tell the angels were excited. The mountains fell away into hills, and then we were zipping along over farmland and towns and highways.

Grover played his pipes to pass time. Zoë got bored and started shooting arrows at random billboards as we flew by Every time she saw a Target department store—and we passed dozens of them—she would peg the store's sign with a few bulls-eyes at a hundred miles an hour. I started to wonder if Artemis' Hunter's are enchanted to return to their bows after a certain amount of time or something, because it seems Zoë never runs out of them.

Thalia kept her eyes closed the whole way. She muttered to herself a lot, like she was praying. I decided to try and get her mind off the heights, or at least make her feel better about her fears.

"There was a time I was scared of the oracle in the attic," I responded.

"What?" Thalia responded skeptical.

"After that dream vision of what happened to Luke's mom, I—I was scared of the idea of going up in the attic—that whatever happened to Miss Castellan would happen to me," I responded. "And when I found out about the oracle—well, let's just say it didn't ease my fear."

"How did you face it?" Thalia asked.

I sighed. "I had to go on the quest to retrieve your father's master bolt, And as traditions says, whenever a hero agrees to go on a quest, we must seek the oracle," I responded. "At first I wanted to get out of there the moment the green smoke started pouring out of her mouth but as soon as the prophecy started, I had no choice but stay."

Thalia nodded. Even though her eyes were closed I could guess that she knows how I feel.

"You were right about my dad," Thalia responded, "It turned out these automatons was a blessing from my dad."

"Like Amalthea," I responded.

Thalia nodded. "How did you get away from the skeleton in the generator room, anyway? From how Grover reacted it seemed you were in danger."

I told her about me accidentally trying to kill Rachel Elizabeth Dare after mistaking her blowing her nose for the sound the spacti made. I also mention how she could see through the Mist like my mom.

"I told her to act casual and act like nothing happened," I responded.

"That's a good idea," Thalia responded. "Mortal or not, if she let on to just anyone any clue that she could see through the Mist, she would be putting herself in danger."

I nodded.

…

"Where you guys want to land?" Hank asked, waking me up from a nap.

I looked down and said, "Whoa."

I'd seen San Francisco in pictures before, but never in real life. It was probably the most beautiful city I'd ever seen. It wasn't as big as Manhattan or L.A., but it looked cleaner, with green hills and fog. There was a huge bay and ships, islands and sailboats, and the Golden Gate Bridge sticking up out of the fog.

"There," Zoë suggested. "By the Embarcadero Building."

"Good thinking," Chuck said. "Me and Hank can blend in with the pigeons."

We all looked at him.

"Kidding," he said. "Sheesh, can't statues have a sense of humor?"

As it turned out, there wasn't any need for Mist manipulation to blend in. It was early morning and not many people were around. We freaked out a homeless guy on the ferry dock when we landed. He screamed when he saw Hank and Chuck and ran off yelling something about metal angels from Mars.

We said our good-byes to the angels, who flew off to party with their statue friends. That's when I realized I had no idea what we were going to do net.

We'd made it to the West Coast. Artemis was here somewhere. Annabeth too, I hoped. But I had no idea how to find them, and tomorrow was the winter solstice. Nor did I have any clue what monster Artemis had been hunting. It was supposed to find _us_ on the quest. It was supposed to "show the trail," but it never had. Now we were stuck on the ferry dock with not much money, no friends, and no luck.

After a brief discussion, we agreed we needed to figure out just what this mystery monster was.

"We need to seek Nereus," I said. "According to Apollo, if anyone could give us the info we need, it's him. But we need to force him to tell us. The problem is if he's immortal, Mist Manipulation might not fool him."

Zoë made a face. "Old Nereus, eh?"

"You know him?" Thalia asked.

"My mother was a sea goddess. Yes, I know him. Unfortunately, he is never very hard to find. Just follow the smell."

…

I knew I was in trouble when we stopped at the Goodwill drop box. Five minutes later, Zoë had me outfitted in a ragged flannel shirt and jeans three sizes too big, bright red sneakers, and a floppy rainbow hat.

"Oh, yeah," Grover said, trying not to bust out laughing, "you look completely inconspicuous now."

Zoë nodded with satisfaction. "A typical male vagrant."

"Thanks a lot," I grumbled. Honestly, I could see why Nereus would try to avoid heroes trying to catch him for information disguise himself as what a homeless person looks like these days, but it didn't help my selfesteme that my _friends_ were getting a good laugh out of it.

Besides, I was really one of the best choices. I remember the story of Nereus' shapeshifting powers and if he tries to turn into a sea animal, then I can use my powers of the sea to my advantage.

Zoë then led us back down to the waterfront. After a long time spent searching the docks, Zoë finally stopped in her tracks. She pointed down a pier where a bunch of homeless guys were huddled together of blankets, waiting for the soup kitchen to open for lunch.

"He will be down there somewhere," Zoë said. "He never travels very far from the waters. He likes to sun himself during the day. But you should be identify him, even with mortal scent he should smell different."

"Right," I responded, "So once I find him, I'll grab him and if he shapeshifting at least have him shape shift into a marine animal."

"Right, and most importantly, get information out of him," Zoë said.

"Right," I responded.

"We've got your back," Thalia said. She picked something off the back of my shirt—a big clump of fuzz that came from who-knows-where. "Eww."

"How about you use the Mist on the others to make sure no homeless guy try to interfere," I suggested.

Thalia was all too happy to agree with that and Grover gave me a big thumbs-up.

I headed toward the dock. I didn't know what I was sniffing for, but my guess that Nereus would have a distinct sea related scent.

I pulled my hat down and stumbled like I was about to pass out, which wasn't hard considering how tired I was. I passed our homeless friend from the Embarcadero, who was still trying to warn the other guys about the metal angels from Mars.

He didn't smell good, but he didn't smell different. I kept walking.

A couple of grimy dudes with plastic grocery bags for hats checked me out as I came close.

"Beat it, kid!" one of them muttered.

I moved away. They smelled pretty bad, but just regular bad. Nothing unusual.

There was a lady with a bunch of plastic flamingos sticking out of a shopping cart. She glared at me like I was going to steal her birds.

At the end of the pier, a guy who looked about a million years old was passed out in a patch of sunlight. He wore pajamas and a fuzzy bathrobe that probably used to be white. He was fat, with beard that turned yellow. Basically he looked like he was Santa Claus' identical twin brother that rolled out of bed and dragged through a landfill.

And man did he smell bad, like _ocean_ bad. Like hot seaweed and dead fish and brine. If the ocean had an ugly side… this guy was it.

I tried not to gag as I sat down near him like I was tired. The guy opened one eye suspiciously. I could feel him staring at me, but I didn't look. I muttered about stupid step-father and stupid schools.

The homeless guy went back to sleep.

I felt a familiar breeze of the Mist being manipulated. Thalia had pulled though, now I need to play ma part. I jumped on the guy.

"Ahhhhhh!" he screamed. I meant to grab him, but he seemed to grab me instead It was as if he'd never been asleep at all. He certainly didn't act like a weak old man. He had a grip like steel. "Help me!" he screamed as he squeezed me to death.

The homeless guys looked at us, but turned their back muttering something like 'Stupid Birds'.

That didn't stop Nereus. He rolled the both of us around the pier until my head slammed into a post. I was dazed for a second, and Nereus' grip slackened. He was making a break for it, but I regained my senses and tackled him from behind.

"I don't have any money!" He tried to get up and run, but I locked my arms around his chest. His rotten fish smell was as bad as my former stepfather Smelly Gabe infamous moldy pizza wrapped in dirty gym shorts scent, but I held on.

"I don't want money," I said as he fought. "I'm a half-blood! I want information!"

That just made him struggle harder. "Heroes! Why do you always picked on me?"

"Because you know everything!"

He growled and tried to shake me off his back. It was like holding on to a roller coaster. He thrashed around, making it impossible for me to keep on my feet, but I gritted my teeth and squeezed tighter. We staggered toward the edge of the pier and I decided now was the time to use the sea part of the plan.

"Oh, no!" I said. "Not the water!"

The plan worked. Immediately, Nereus yelled in triumph and jumped off the edge. Together, we plunged into San Francisco Bay.

He must've been surprised when I tightened my grip, the ocean filling me with extra strength. But Nereus had a few tricks left, too. He changed shape until I was holding a sleek black seal, making it harder to hold on.

Nereus plunged straight down, wriggling and thrashing and spiraling through the dark water, but I was able to hold on due to the fact that I was the son of Poseidon.

Nereus spun and expanded, turning into a killer whale, but I grabbed his dorsal fin as he burst out of the water.

A bunch of tourist went, "Whoa!"

Nereus plunged into the water and turned into a slimy eel, but I still hold on until finally he changed back to human form. "Why won't you drown?" he wailed, pummeling me with his fist.

"I'm Poseidon's son," I responded.

"Darn that upstart! I was here first!"

Finally he collapsed at the edge of the boat deck. Above us was one of those tourist piers lined with shops, like a mall on water. Nereus was heaving and gasping. I was feeling great. I could've gone on all day, but I didn't tell him that. I wanted him to feel like he'd put up a good fight.

My friends ran down the steps from the pier.

"You got him!" Zoë said.

"You don't have to sound so amazed," I said.

Nereus moaned. "Oh, wonderful. An audience for my humiliation! The normal deal, I suppose?"

"One question per capture, right?" I asked.

Nereus nodded.

I turned to my friends. Zoë had a look that told me that she wanted to ask about Artemis. I don't blame her. Due to my personal loyalty fatal flaw a part of me wanted to ask about Annabeth, but in order to save them both I decided to go with the one thing that started the quest.

"All right, Nereus. Tell me where to find this terrible monster that could bring an end to the gods. The one Artemis was hunting."

The Old Man of the Sea smiled, showing his mossy green teeth.

"Oh, that's too easy," he said evilly. "He's right there."

Nereus pointed to the water

"Where?" I said.

"The deal is completed!" Nereus gloated. With a pop, he turned into a goldfish and did a backflip into the sea.

"You tricked me!" I yelled.

"Wait." Thalia's eyes widened. "What is _that_?"

"MOOOOOOOO!"

I looked down and there was my friend the cow serpent, swimming next to the dock. She nudge my shoe and gave me the sad brown eyes.

"Not now," I groaned.

"Mooo!"

"Grover, do you have any idea what he's saying?" I asked.

Grover nodded. "It's a very old form of animal speech. He says he been following you because you're his protector."

"You know this cow?" Zoë demanded.

"Mooo!"

"He says his name is Ophiotaurus, and he's been running from bad people when he got tangled in a fishing boat when Percy saved him," Grover responded.

"Wait, you mean that's the creature you saved?" Thalia asked.

"Yes, but I had no clue about it being chased down," I responded.

"I am a fool," Zoë said suddenly. "I know this story! It goes as back from the War of the Titans. My… my father told me this tale, thousands of years ago. This is the beast we are looking for."

I looked down at the Ophiotaurus. "How is this guy the bane of Olympus?"

"Through a sacrifice," Zoë replied.

"MMMM," Bessie lowered.

"I don't think he likes the S-word," Grover said.

I patted Ophiotaurus on the head, trying to calm him down. He let me scratch his ear, but he was trembling.

Zoë continued the story. "There is power in killing innocence. Terrible power. The Fates ordained a prophecy eons ago, when this creature was born. They said what whoever killed the Ophiotaurus and sacrificed its entrails to fire would have the power to destroy the gods."

"MMMMMM!"

"Um," Grover said. "Maybe we could avoid talking about _entrails_ , too."

Thalia stared at the cow serpent with wonder. "The power to destroy the gods… how? I mean, what would happen?"

"No one knows," Zoë said. "The first time, during the Titan war, the Ophiotaurus was in fact slain by a giant ally of the Titans, but thy father, Zeus, sent an eagle to snatch the entrails away before they could be tossed into the fire. It was a close call. Now, after three thousand years, the Ophiotaurus is reborn."

Thalia sat down on the dock. She stretched her hand. Ophiotaurus went right to her. Thalia placed her hand on his head. Ophiotaurus shivered.

Thalia's expression worries me. She almost looked… hungry—as if attempted to gain power. That's when I realized that must have been Thalia's fatal flaw: Hunger for Power. Every hero has a fatal flaw, but unitl now, I never seen Thalia show signs of her fatal flaw, and now that I have, I'm concern.

"We have to protect him," I responded. "If Luke gets hold of him—"

"Luke won't hesitate," Thalia muttered. "The power to overthrow Olympus. That's… that's huge."

"Yes, it is, my dear," said a man's voice in a heavy French accent. "And it is a power _you_ shall unleash."

The Ophiotaurus made a whimpering sound and submerged.

I looked up. We'd been so busy talking, we'd allowed ourselves to be ambushed.

Standing behind us, his two color eyes gleaming wickedly, was Dr. Thorn, the manticore himself.

…

"This is just pair-fect," the manticore gloated.

He was wearing a ratty black trench coat over his Westover Hall uniform, which was torn and stained. His military haircut had grown out spiky and greasy. He hadn't shaved recently, so his face was covered in silver stubble. Basically he didn't look much better than the guys down at the soup kitchen.

"Long ago, the gods banished me to Persia," the manticore said. "I was forced to scrounge for food on the edges of the world, hiding in the forests, devouring insignificant human farmers for my meal. I never got to fight any great heroes. I was not feared and admired in the old stories! But now that will change. The Titans shall honor me, and I shall feast on the flesh of half-bloods!"

On either side of him stood two armed security guys, some of the mortal mercenaries I'd seen in D.C. Two more stood on the next boat dock over, just in case we tried to escape that way. There were tourists all around—walking down the waterfront, shopping at the piers above us—but I knew that wouldn't stop the manticore from acting.

"Where are the Spacti?" I asked the manticore.

He sneered. "I do not need those foolish undead! The General thinks I am worthless? He will change his mind when I defeat you myself. Especially since you don't have that goddess to help you. Without her you're good as dead.

He's right, we don't have Artemis to help us and most of the Olympians can't help directly.

Zoë notch her arrow straight at the manticore's head. The guards on either side of us raised their guns.

"Put away your bow, girl. It would be a shame to kill you before you witness Thalia's greatest victory."

"What are you talking about?" Thalia growled. She had her shield and spear ready.

"Surely it is clear," the manticore said. "This is your moment. This is why Lord Kronos brought you back to life. You will sacrifice the Ophiotaurus. You will bring its entrails to the sacred fire on the mountain. You will gain unlimited power. And for your sixteenth birthday, you will over throw Olympus."

Thalia hesitated with a stunned look on her face.

"No, Thalia!" I yelled, "Don't listen to him. You have a choice, you don't have to destroy Olympus."

"Oh, please, Percy Jackson. It been pre-decided," Dr. Thorn said.

"The prophecy said a child of the big three shall decide to destroy or preserve Olympus!" I responded, "Thalia think about Jason. You think Jason would be proud of being the kid brother of the girl who destroyed Olympus? Remember how devastated you were when you found out Luke decided to help Kronos. Do you want Jason to go through that?"

"N-no. I don't," Thalia responded.

At this point, Grover decided to stop the manticore from trying to tempt Thalia again by playing a quick riff with his pipes.

The wood planks at their feet sprouted new branches and tangled around the mercenaries' legs. Zoë let loose two quick arrows that exploded at their feet in the cloud of sulfurous yellow smoke. Fart arrows.

The guards started coughing. The manticore shot spines in our direction, but they ricocheted off my lion's coat.

"Grover!" I said. "tell Ophiotaurus to dive deep and stay down!"

"Moooooo!" Grover translated. I could only Ophiotaurus got the message.

"Come on!" I yelled.

We ran up the stairs to the shopping center on the pier. We dashed around the corner of the nearest store. I heard the manticore shouting at his minions, "Get them!" Tourist screamed as the guards shot blindly into the air.

We scrambled to the end of the pier. We hid behind a little kiosk filled with souvenir crystals—wind chimes and dream catchers and stuff like that, glittering in the sunlight. There was a water fountain next to us. Down below, a bunch of sea lions were sunning themselves on the rocks. The whole of San Francisco Bay spread out before us: the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island, and the green hills and fog beyond that to the north. If it wasn't for the fact we were about to die, I would be enjoying it.

"We have to get word to camp," Grover said. "At least let them know what's going on!"

I noticed the crystals making rainbows in the sunlight. There was a drinking fountain next to me.

"That work," I said.

I closed my eyes and focus on the pipes in the water fountain. With a churning feeling in my stomach the pipes in it burst causing the water to blast out of the water fountain, destroying it and the water spraying over us.

"Grover, Drachma!" I yelled.

Grover nodded. He fished out a golden drachma and threw it into the rainbows created by the mist and yelled, "O goddess, accept my offering!"

The mist rippled.

"Camp Half-Blood!" I said.

And there, shimmering in the Mist next to us, was the last person I expected to see: Mr. D, wearing his leopard-skin jogging suit and rummaging through the refrigerator.

I was hoping for Chiron, but at this point, I would take anyone.

"Mr. D!" I yelled knowing that would get his attention.

Mr. D looked up in complete shock. "Oh, it's you. What do you want?"

"We're have a message Chiron needs to now," I responded as I told him about the Ophiotaurus.

"Mmm," he studied the contents of the fridge. "So that's it. I see."

The manticore screamed, "There!" And we were surrounded. Two of the guards stood behind him. The other two appeared on the roofs of the pier shops above us. The manticore threw off his coat and transformed into his true self, his lion claws extended and his spiky tail bristling with poison barbs.

"Excellent," he said. He glanced at the apparition in the mist and snorted. "Alone, without any _real_ help. Wonderful."

Zoë readied her arrows, Grover lifted his pipes, Thalia raised her shield, and I noticed a tear running down her cheek. It didn't take me long to realize why, this was exactly like what happened almost eight years ago, only this time she can't save us. But I can.

"Look, Lord Dionysus"—I said his name with with reluctance—"If you help us defeat the manticore, I swear on the River of Styx that I would do _anything_ to you want me to do in the near future."

"Anything?" Mr. D asked.

"Yes!"

"Spare the daughter of Zeus. She will join us soon enough. Kill the others." The Manticore ordered.

The men raised their guns, and something strange happened. You know how you feel when all the blood rushes to your head, like if you hang upside down and turn right-side up too quickly? There was a rush like that all around me, and a sound like a huge sigh. The sunlight tinged purple, I smelled grapes and something more sour—wine.

SNAP!

It was the sound of many minds breaking at the same time. The sound of madness. One guard put his pistol between his teeth like it was a bone and ran around on all four. Two others dropped their guns and started waltzing with each other. The fourth began doing what looked like an Irish clogging dance.

"No!" screamed the manticore. "I will deal with you myself!"

His tail bristled, but the planks under his paw erupted into grape vines, which immediately began wrapping around the monster's body, sprouting new leaves and clusters of green baby grapes that ripened in seconds as the manticore shrieked, until he was engulfed in a huge mass of vines, leaves, and full clusters of purple grapes. Finally the grapes stopped shivering, and I had a feeling that somewhere inside there, the manticore was no more.

"Well, that was fun," said Dionysus, closing his refrigerator and stared resentfully at Thalia. "I hope you learned your lesson, girl. It isn't easy to resist power, is it?"

Thalia blushed as if she was ashamed.

"Mr. D," Grover said in amazement. "You… you saved us."

"Mmm. Don't make me regret it, satyr. As for your oath, Percy Jackson, I'll keep you to it. It won't happen immediately, but when I do come up with a way for you to repay what you owe me, and you better do it or suffer a worse fate than the Manticore."

"Mr. D—you just call me by my actual name." I said in shock since Mr. D never called me by my name, not on purpose at least.

Mr. D seemed to went into defense. "I most certainly have not! Now get going! I only buy you a couple of hours. Zoë should know how to get to your destination!"

He waved his hand, and his image disappeared in the mist.

All around us, the manticore's minions were still acting completely nuts. One of them had found our friend the homeless guy, and they were having a serious conversation about metal angels from Mars. Several other guards were harassing the tourist, making animal noises and trying to steal their shoes.

I looked at Zoë. "What did he mean 'you should know how to get to our destination?'"

Her face was the color of the fog. She pointed across the bay, past the Golden Gate. In the distance, a single mountain rose up above the cloud layer.

"The garden of my sisters," she said. "I must go home."


	16. We Reach the Titan's Base

**A/N:** Certain ancient Greek names matches words use of foul language but no foul language was intentionally used. Also if you haven't read them yet read 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Early Adventures' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief' and 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters' before reading this story. Lastly, any one who wants to do a Demigods and Olympian reads story using 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon' is allowed _as long as_ you inform me about it.

* * *

 **We Reach the Titan's Base**

"We will never make it," Zoë said. "We are moving too slow. But we cannot leave the Ophiotaurus."

"Mooo," Tauro—the name I decided to call it instead of calling it by it's full name. No one complained about the name since it was another name for a cow anyways. He swam next to me as we jogged along the waterfront. We'd left the shopping center pier far behind. We were heading toward the Golden Gate Bridge, but it was a lot farther than I'd realized. The sun was already dipping in the west.

We had to get to Mount Tam by sunset, the only time of day when the garden of Hesperides appear. If we don't get there by tonight, we would have to wait until tomorrow, and that was out of the question since tomorrow is the winter solstice.

"We need a car," Thalia said.

"But what about Tauro?" I asked.

Grover stopped in his tracks. "I got an idea! The Ophiotaurus can appear in different bodies of water, right?"

"Well, yeah," I said. "I mean, he was in Long Island Sound. Then he just popped into the water at Hoover Dam. And now he's here."

"So maybe we could coax him back to Long Island Sound," Grover said. "Then Chiron could help us get him to Olympus."

"But he was following _me_ ," I said. "Would he even know the way back without be there?"

"Moo," Tauro said forlornly.

"I…I can show him," Grover said. "I'll go with him."

I stared at him. Being a satyr, Grover wasn't a strong swimmer.

"I'm the only one who can talk to him," Grover said. "It makes sense."

He bent down and said something in Tauro's ear. Tauro shivered, then made a contented lowing sound.

"The blessing of the Wild," Grover said. "That should help with safe passage. Percy, pray to your dad, too. See if he will grant us safe passage through the seas.

I nodded and closed my eyes to concentrate on the waves, the smell of the ocean, the sound of the tide.

"Dad," I said. "Help us. Get the Ophiotaurus and Grover safely to camp. Protect them at sea."

"A prayer like that needs a sacrifice," Thalia said. "Something big.

I thought for a second. Then I took off my coat.

"Percy," Grover said. "Are you sure? That lion skin… that's really helpful. Hercules used it."

"I'll survive, but not because of lion skin," I said. "I'm not Hercules."

I threw the coat into the bay. It turned back into a golden lion skin, flashing in the light. Then, as it began to sink beneath the waves, it seemed to dissolve into sunlight on the water.

The sea breeze picked up.

Grover took a deep breath. "Well, no time to lose."

He jumped in the water and immediately began to sink. Tauro glided next to him and let Grover take hold of his neck.

"Be careful," I told them.

"We will," Grover said. "Okay, um… Tauro? We're going to Long Island. It's east. Over that way."

"Moooo?" Tauro said.

"Yes," Grover answered. "Long Island. It's this island. And… it's long. Oh, let's just start."

"Mooo!"

Tauro lurched forward. He started to submerge and Grover said, "I can't breath underwater! Just thought I'd mention—" _Glub!_

Under they went, and I hope my father's protection include an air bubble for Grover specifically.

"Well, that is one problem addressed," Zoë said. "But how can we get to my sisters' garden?"

That's when an idea came to my mind.

"Thalia, Annabeth's dad wouldn't by chance have already moved here while you two were in boarding school, would he?"

Thalia was confused at first but her eyes widened as she realized why I asked. "He did!"

…

We reached the Chase Family home using the address Dr. Chase gave Thalia. Fortunately Dr. Chase answered the door when we knocked, wearing an old-fashioned aviator's cap and goggles. He looked so weird with his eyes bugging out through the glasses, that we all took a step back on the front porch. He clearly haven't shaved in a couple of days, and his shirt was button wrong, so one side of his collar stuck up higher than the other side.

"Hello," he said in a friendly voice. "Are you delivering my airplanes?"

"Um, no, Dr. Chase. It's us, Percy Jackson and Thalia Grace," I responded, "Remember, we met last summer along with my mom?"

Dr. Chase looked at me carefully and realized who I am.

"Oh, Percy! Thalia! Long time no seek! Is Annabeth with you? Where is she?"

"That's why we came here, sir," Thalia responded. "Annabeth is in trouble."

Dr. Chase straightened up as if I'd just given him an electric shock. "What happened?"

None of us answered, but our faces must've told him that it was something bad. He took off his cap and goggles, revealing his sandy color hair and intense brown eyes.

"You'd better come in," he said.

…

It didn't look like a house they'd just recently moved into. There were LEGO robots on the stairs and two cats sleeping on the sofa in the living room. The coffee table was stacked with magazines, and a little kid's winter coat was spread on the floor. The whole house smelled like fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies. There was jazz music coming from the kitchen. It seemed like a messy, happy kind of home—the kind of place that had been lived in forever.

There were two twin boys there as well arguing over robots. They were Annabeth's mortal half-brothers Bobby and Matthew. They were Asian American kids both with their father's brown eyes.

"Dad!" one of them screamed. "He's taking apart my robots."

"Bobby," Dr. Chase called absently, "don't take your brother's robots."

" _I'm_ Bobby," the little boy protested. "He's Matthew!"

"Matthew," Dr. Chase called, "don't take apart your brother's robots!"

"Okay, dad!" said Matthew.

Dr. Chase turned to us. "We'll go upstairs to my study. This way."

"Honey?" a woman called. Annabeth's stepmom appeared in the living room, wiping her hands on a dish towel. She was a pretty Asian woman with red highlighted hair tied in a bun. She noticed Thalia and me, and immediately recognized me.

"Percy! Thalia! Nice to see you again, dear!" she greeted.

"Nice to see you too, Mrs. Chase," Thalia and I responded.

"Are you and your friend, hungry? I can get you guys some cookies sandwiches and soda if you want."

I turned to Thalia and Zoë. I guess they were as hungry as I am because they shrugged as if saying _might as well_.

"Sure, thanks!" I responded.

"Dear," Dr. Chase said. "They came about Annabeth."

Mrs. Chase pursed her lips and looked concerned. "All right. Go on up to the study and I'll bring you the food." She smiled at me. "It's nice to see you again, Percy. Same goes to you Thalia."

…

Upstairs, we waked into Dr. Chase's study and I said, "Whoa!"

The room was wall-to-wall books, but what really caught my attention were the war toys. There was a huge table with miniature tanks and soldiers fighting along blue painted river, with hills and fake trees and stuff. Old-fashioned biplanes hung on strings from the ceiling, tilted at crazy angles like they were in the middle of a dogfight.

Dr. Chase smiled. "Yes. The Third Battle of Ypres. I'm writing a paper, you see Percy, on the use of Sopwith Camels to strafe enemy lines. I believe they played a much greater role than they've been given credit for."

He plucked a biplane from its string and swept it across the battlefield, making airplane engine noises as he knocked down little German soldiers.

I tried hard not to smile, but Dr. Chase seem to have that effect on me. Not every day you see a full grown man try to reenacts a battle in a way that reminded you of a kid playing with toys. Plus the way he talk about his research reminded me of how my mom would talk about the books she planned on writing—the way he seemed happy and excited talking about it to the fact you wish you don't have to break their moment.

Zoë came over and studied the battlefield. "The German lines were farther from the river. "

Dr. Chase stared at her. "How do you know that?"

"I was there," she said matter-of-factly. "Artemis wanted to show us how horrible war was, the way mortal men fight each other. And how foolish. The battle was a complete waste."

Dr. Chase opened his mouth in shock. "You—"

"She's a Hunter, sir," Thalia said. "But that's not why we're here. We need—"

"You saw the Sopwith Camels?" Dr. Chase said. "How many were there? What formation did they fly?"

"Sir," Thalia broke in again. "Annabeth is in danger."

That got his attention. He set the biplane down.

"Of course," he said. "Tell me everything."

It wasn't easy, but we tried. Meanwhile, the afternoon light was fading outside. We were running out of time.

When we were finished, Dr. Chase collapsed in his leather recliner. He laced his hand. "My poor brave Annabeth. We must hurry."

"Sir, we need transportation to Mount Tamalpais," Zoë said. "And we need it immediately."

"I'll drive you. Hmm, it would be faster to fly in my Camel, but it only seat two."

"You finally got a biplane?" I asked.

"Down at Crissy Field," Dr. Chase said proudly. "That's the reason I had to move here. My sponsor is a private collector with some of the finest World War I relics in the world. He let me restore the Sopwith Camel—"

"Sir," Thalia said. "Just a car would be great. And it might be better if we went without you. It's too dangerous."

Dr. Chase frowned uncomfortably. "Now wait a minute, young lady. Annabeth is my daughter. Dangerous or not, I… I can't just—"

"Snacks," Mrs. Chase announced. She pushed through the door with a tray full of peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches and Cokes and cookies fresh out of the oven, the chocolate chips still gooey. Thalia and I inhaled a few cookies while Zoë said, "I can drive sir. I'm not as young as I look. I promise not to destroy your car."

Mrs. Chase knit her eyebrows. "What's this about?"

"Annabeth is in danger," Dr. Chase said. "On Mount Tam. I would drive them, but… apparently it's no place for mortals."

It sounded like it was really hard for him to get that last part out.

Mrs. Chase nodded. "Then they'd better get going."

"Right!" Dr. Chase jumped up and started patting his pockets. "My keys…"

His wife sighed. "Frederick, honestly. You'd lose your head if it weren't wrapped inside your aviator hat. The keys are hanging on the peg by the front door."

"Right!" Dr. Chase said.

Zoë grabbed a sandwich. "Thank you both. We should go. _Now_."

We hustled out the door and down the stairs, the Chases right behind us.r

"Percy," Mrs. Chase called as I was leaving, "tell Annabeth… tell her she still has a home here, will you? Remind her of that."

"I'll tell her," I promised.

We ran out to the yellow VW convertible parked in the driveway. The sun was going down. I figured we had less than an hour to free Artemis and save Annabeth.

…

"Can't this thing go any faster?" Thalia demanded.

Zoë glared at her. "I cannot control the traffic."

"You both sound like my mother," I said.

"Shut up," they said in unison.

Zoë weaved in and out of traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge. The sun was sinking on the horizon when we finally got into Marin County and exited the highway.

The roads were insanely narrow, winding through forests and up the sides of hills and around the edges of steep ravines. Zoë didn't slow down at all.

There were Eucalyptus trees all around us, giving a scent a cough drops. I remember reading how monsters—mostly dragons—love to chew on them.

Ahead of us loomed Mount Tamalpais. I guess, in terms of mountains, it was a small one, but considering it housed the actual Mountain of Despair which was the highest peak in Greek mythology until Zeus sheered the top off with his master bolt, making Mount Olympus the highest peak.

Clouds seemed to be swirling around the peak, as though the mountain was drawing them in, spinning them like a top. That wasn't a good sign.

"We have to concentrate," Thalia said. "The Mist is really strong here.

The gray clouds swirled even thicker over the mountain, and we kept driving straight toward them. We were out of the forest now, into wide open spaces of cliffs and grass and rocks and fog.

I happened to glance down at the ocean as we passed the scenic curve, and I saw something that made me jump out of my seat. A big white cruise ship. I looked again to see if I can see the front of the ship but we turned a corner and the ocean disappeared behind the hills.

"Percy, what's wrong?" Thalia asked.

"I think just saw the _Princess Andromeda_ ," I responded, "Luke's ship."

"We will have company, then," Zoë said grimly. "Kronos' army."

I was about to answer, when suddenly the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Thalia shouted, "Stop the car. NOW!"

Zoë must've sensed something was wrong, because she slammed on the brakes without question. The yellow VW spun twice before coming to a stop at the edge of the cliff.

"Out!" Thalia opened the door and pushed me hard. We both rolled onto the pavement. The next second: _BOOOM!_

Lightning flashed, and Dr. Chase's Volkswagen erupted like a canary-yellow grenade. I probably would've been killed by shrapnel except for Thalia's shield, which appeared over me. I heard the sound like metal rain, when I opened my eyes, we were surrounded by wreckage. Part of the VW's fender had impaled itself in the street. The smoking hood spinning in circles. Pieces of yellow metal were strewn across the road.

I swallowed the taste of smoke out of my mouth, and looked at Thalia, only to see anger in her eyes.

 _"One shall perish by a parent's hand,"_ she muttered.

Immediately I got the feeling she was talking about her dad. "Whoa! Hold on, that couldn't be Zeus."

"Then who?" Thalia responded.

"I don't know—but we're in Titan's territory, so we can't jump to conclusions about the Olympians trying to kill us," I responded.

"He's right," Zoë agreed walking up to us. Apparently she been thrown elsewhere, "Come on! We're close!"

Sheets of fog were drifting right across the road. Zoë stepped into one of them, and when the fog passed, she was no longer there. Thalia and I followed her the best we can.

"Zeus didn't send that lightning bolt at the car. It has to be a Titan," I reminded Thalia, "Remember, the Titan Lord is known for his crooked actions, and will try everything in his power to manipulate you to do what he wants."

Thalia took a deep breath. "Thanks, Percy."

"I'm just trying to make you feel better," I responded.

"No, not just that. Also back in the pier," Thalia responded. "What you said about Jason—you sounded so sure back there that it snapped me out of my trance."

I smiled. "I did learn firsthand what it's like to be the older sibling last year. Come on! We better keep going."

Thalia nodded as we ventured further.

When the fog clear, I was still on the side of the mountain, but the road was dirt. The grass was thicker. The sunset made a blood red slash across the se. The summit of mountain seemed closer now, swirling with storm clouds and raw power. There was only one path to the top, directly in front of us. And it led through a lush meadow of shadows and flowers: the garden of twilight, just like I'd seen in my dreams.

…

If it hadn't been for the enormous dragon, the garden would've been the most beautiful place I'd ever seen. The grass shimmered with silvery evening light, and the flowers were such brilliant colors they almost glowed in the dark. Stepping stones of polished black marble led around either side of a five-story-tall apple trees, every bough glittered with golden apples, and I don't mean _yellow_ golden apples like the grocery store. I mean _real_ golden apples. Their fragrance were so appealing I was attempted to eat one. These were definitely the apples of immortality—Hera's wedding gift from Zeus.

The only thing that guards the tree was a huge serpent like dragon that was thick as booster rockets, glinting with coppery scales, and hundreds of deadly python-like heads that separates by the necks that seemed fused to the body. He appeared to be asleep. The heads lay curled in a big spaghetti-like mound of grass all the eyes closed. My guess is if we pass by him quietly we might be able to reach Artemis and Annabeth _without_ waking it.

Then the shadows in front of us began to move. At first I thought it might be Hades' work, but then there was a beautiful, eerie singing, like the voices from the bottom of a well. I reached for Riptide, but Zoë stopped my hand.

The four figures shimmered into existence, four young women who looked very much like Zoë. They all wore white Greek chitons. Their skin was like caramel. Silky black hair tumbled loose around their shoulders. They were beautiful but if they were anything like Zoë, they were dangerous.

"Sisters," Zoë said.

"We do not see any sister," one of the girls said coldly. "We see two half-bloods and a Hunter. All of whom shall soon die."

"You've got it wrong." I stepped forward. "Nobody is going to die."

The girls studied me. They had eyes like volcanic rock, glassy and completely black.

"Perseus Jackson," one of them said.

"Yes," mused another I do not see why he is a threat."

"A threat?" I asked.

The first Hesperid glanced behind her, toward the top of the mountain. "They fear thee. They are unhappy that _this_ one has not killed thee."

She pointed at Thalia.

"I'm not going to kill Percy," Thalia responded, "He's my friend."

"There are no friends here, daughter of Zeus," the girl said. "Only enemies. Go back."

"Not without Annabeth," Thalia said.

"And Artemis," Zoë said. "We must approach the mountain."

"You know he will kill thee," the girl said. "You are no match for him."

"Artemis must be freed," Zoë insisted. "Let us pass."

The girl shook her head. "You have no rights here anymore. We have only to raise our voices and Ladon will wake."

"He will not hurt me," Zoë said.

"No? And what about thy so-called friends?"

Then Zoë did the last thing I expected. She shouted, "Ladon! Wake!"

The dragon stirred, glittering like a mountain of pennies. The Hesperides yelped and scattered. The lead girl said to Zoë, "Are you mad?"

"You never had any courage, sister," Zoë said. "That is thy problem."

The dragon Ladon was writhing now, a hundred heads whipping around, tongues flickering and tasting the air. Zoë took a step forward, her arms raised.

"Zoë, don't," Thalia said. "You're not a Hesperid anymore. He'll kill you."

"Ladon is trained to protect the tree," Zoë said. "Skirt around the edges of the garden. Go up the mountain. As long as I am a bigger threat, he should ignore thee."

Ladon opened his mouths. The sound of a hundred heads hissing at once sent a shiver down my back, and that was before his breath hit me. The smell was like acid. It made my eyes burn, my skin crawl, and my hair stand on end. The horrible scents of Gabe and Nereus combine couldn't complete against the stench of Ladon's breath.

I wanted to draw my sword. But then I remembered my dream of Zoë and Hercules, and how Hercules had failed in a head-on assault. Sure Hal once said I would be one of the seven greatest demigods of my generation, but I wasn't about to test the prophecy against Ladon.

Thalia went to the left. I went to the right. Zoë walked straight toward the monster.

"It's me, my little dragon," Zoë said. "Zoë has come back."

Ladon shifted forward, then back. Some of the mouths closed. Some kept hissing. Dragon confusion. Meanwhile the Hesperides shimmered and turned into shadows. The voice of the eldest whispered, "Fool."

"I used to feed thee by hand," Zoë continued, speaking in a soothing voice as she stepped toward the golden tree. "Do you still like lamb's meat?"

The dragon's eyes glinted.

Thalia and I were about half way around the garden. Ahead, I could see a single rocky trail leading up to the black peak of the mountain. The storm swirled above it, spinning on the summit like it was the axis for the whole world.

We'd almost made it out of the meadow when something went wrong. I felt the dragon's mood shift. Maybe Zoë got too close. Maybe the dragon realized he was hungry. Whatever the reason, he lunged at Zoë.

Two thousand years of training kept her alive. She dodge one set of slashing fangs and tumbling under another, weaving through the dragon's heads as she ran in our direction, gagging from the monster's horrible breath. However the dragon got lucky and snapped at her side, and Zoë cried out.

Thalia uncovered Aegis, and the dragon hissed. I drew out my thermos and uncapped it. With both my thermos and hand stretched out I summoned a water blast out of it in a form of a hand.

The water grabbed Zoë and I lead it to drop her off next to Thalia before I capped my thermos before we headed up the mountain.

The dragon didn't try to pursue. He hissed and stomped the ground, but I guess he was well trained to guard that tree. He wasn't going to be lured off, even by a tasty prospect of eating some heroes.

We ran up the mountain as the Hesperides resume their song in the shadows behind us. The music didn't sound so beautiful to me now—more like the sound track for a funeral.

…

At the top of mountain were ruins, blocks of black granite and marble as big as houses. Broken columns. Statues of bronze that looked as though they'd veen half melted.

"The ruins of Mount Othrys," Thalia whispered in awe.

"Yes," Zoë said. "It was not here before. This is bad."

I nodded, as I said before, this place was sheered off by Zeus' master bolt.

Zoë winced and held her side.

"You're hurt," I said. "Let me see."

"No! It's nothing," Zoë responded.

I was concern. We were about to face the general, and if Zoë was injured, we could be in trouble.

We reached the summit. A few yards ahead of us, gray clouds swirled in a heavy vortex, making a funnel cloud that almost touched the mountaintop, but instead rested on the shoulders of a twelve year old girl with auburn hair and a tattered silvery dress: Artemis, her legs bound to the rock with celestial bronze chains. Minus the cavern part, this is what I saw in my dream.

"My lady!" Zoë rushed forward.

But Artemis said, "Stop! It is a trap. You must leave now."

Her voice was strained. She was drenched in sweat. I had never seen a goddess in pain before, but the weight of the sky was clearly too much for Artemis.

Zoë was crying. She ran forward despite Artemis' protest, and tugged at the chains.

A booming voice spoke behind us: "Ah, how touching."

We turned. The General was standing there in his brown silk suit. At his side were Luke and half a dozen dracaenae bearing the gold sarcophagus of Kronos. Annabeth stood at Luke's side. She had her hands cuffed behind her back, a gag in her mouth, and Luke was holding a pint of her sword to her throat.

I met her eyes and she send me one message: _RUN._

"Luke," Thalia snarled. "Let her go."

Luke's smile was weak and pale. He looked even worse than he had three days ago in D.C. "that is the General's decision, Thalia. But it's good to see you again."

Thalia spat at him.

The General chuckled. "So much for good friends. And you, Zoë. It been a long time. How is my little traitor? I will enjoy killing you."

"Do not respond," Artemis groaned. "Do not challenge him."

"So, you truly are Atlas," I responded.

The General known as Atlas glanced at me. "Yes, I am Atlas, the general of the Titans and terror of the gods. Congratulations. I will kill you presently, as soon as I deal with this wretched girl."

"You're not going to hurt Zoë," I said. "I won't let you."

The General sneered. "You have no right to interfere, little hero. This is a family matter."


	17. I take on the Titan's Curse

**A/N:** Certain ancient Greek names matches words use of foul language but no foul language was intentionally used. Also if you haven't read them yet read 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Early Adventures' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief' and 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters' before reading this story. Lastly, any one who wants to do a Demigods and Olympian reads story using 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon' is allowed _as long as_ you inform me about it.

* * *

 **I take on the Titan's Curse**

I figured Zoë was possibly related to Atlas from the moment I saw him in Washington D.C., and after finding out she was once one of the Hesperides, I knew she was his daughter, although it was hard to believe it.

"Let Artemis go," Zoë demanded.

Atlas walked closer to the chain goddess. "Perhaps you'd like to take the sky for her, then? Be my guest."

Zoë opened her mouth to speak, but Artemis said, "No! Don't offer, Zoë! I forbid you."

Atlast smirked. He knelt next to Artemis and tried to touch her face, but the goddess bit at him, almost taking off his fingers.

"Hoo-hoo," Atlas chuckled. "You see, daughter? Lady Artemis likes her new job. I think I will have all the Olympians take turns carrying my burden, once Kronos rules again, and this is the center of our palace. It will teach those weaklings some humility."

I looked at Annabeth. She was desperately trying to tell me something. She motions her head to Luke. I noticed that both of them had a gray streak in their hair.

"From holding the sky," Thalia muttered, as if she'd read my mind. "The weight should've killed them both."

I nodded with understanding. This was where the sky and the earth first met, where Ouranos and Gaia first brought forth their children—the hundred handed ones, the three elder Cyclops, and of course the Titans. Someone must hold the sky in bay or else the sky will crush the earth along with everything on it. Only way for someone to escape the curse was for someone to take it on.

Atlas approached us, studying Thalia and me. "So these are the best heroes of the age, eh? Not much of a challenge. As much as I like to see if you truly can match Hercules as a greatest hero myself, son of Poseidon, I think I'll have Luke crush you before you reach that point.

Then he turned to Thalia. "As for you, daughter of Zeus, it seems Luke was wrong about you."

"I wasn't wrong," Luke managed. He looked terribly weak, and he spoke every word as if it were painful. Despite how Luke tried to kill me, a part of me still wanted to believe that deep under his hatred was the Luke that tried everything in his powers to help return me to my mom. "Thalia, you still can join us. Call Ophiotaurus. It will come to you. Look!"

He waved his hand, and next to us a pool of water appeared: a pond ringed in black marble, big enough for the Ophiotaurus.

I knew what was going on and I opened my empathy link. _Grover tell Tauro don't come unless_ I _call it! Not Thalia._

I didn't get a response but I sense Grover sounding frantic as if trying his hardest to talk to Tauros. I decided to quickly close the link for Grover's and Tauro's sake.

"Thalia, called the Ophiotaurus," Luke persisted. "And you will be more powerful than the gods."

"Luke…" Her voice was full of pain. "What happened to you?"

"Don't you remember all those times we talked? All those times we cursed the gods? Our fathers have done nothing for us. They have no right to rule the world!"

Thalia shook her head. "Free Annabeth. Let her go."

"If you join me," Luke promised, "it can be like old times. Please, Thalia, if you don't agree…"

His voice faltered. "It's my last chance. He will use the other way if you don't agree. Please."

I didn't know what he meant, but the fear in his voice sounded like it was something terrible.

His life depended on Thalia's joining his cause. And I was afraid Thalia might believe it, too.

"Do not, Thalia," Zoë warned. "We must fight them."

Luke waved his hand again and a fire appeared. A bronze brazier, just like the one at camp. A sacrificial flame."

"Thalia," I said, "Don't!"

Behind Luke, the golden sarcophagus began to glow. As it did, I saw images of the mist all around us: black marble walls rising, the ruins becoming whole, a terrible and beautiful palace rising around us, made of fear and shadow.

"We will raise Mount Othrys right here," Luke promised, in a voice so strained it was hardly his. "Once more, it will be stronger and greater than Olympus. Look, Thalia. We are not weak."

He pointed toward the ocean, and my heart fell. Marching up the side of the mountain, from the beach were the _Princess Andromeda_ was docked, was a great army. Dracaenae and Laestrygonians, monsters and half-bloods, hell hounds, harpies, and several hundred other kind of monsters. The whole ship must've been emptied, because there were hundred, many more than I'd seen on board last summer. And they were marching toward us. In a few minutes, they would be here.

"This is only a taste of what is to come," Luke said. "Soon we will be ready to storm Camp Half-Blood. And after that, Olympus itself. All we need is your help."

For a terrible moment, Thalia hesitated. She gazed at Luke, her eyes full of pain, as if the only thing she wanted in the world was to believe him. Then she leveled her spear. "You aren't Luke. I don't know you anymore."

"Yes, you do, Thalia," he pleaded. "Please. Don't make me… Don't make _him_ destroy you."

There was no time. If that army got to the top of the hill, we would be overwhelmed. Even I have to admit, telling Luke the truth about his parents would have to wait—if we ever get the chance of telling him. I met Annabeth's eyes again. She nodded.

I looked at Thalia and Zoë, and I decided it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world fighting to our possible deaths.

"Now," I said.

Together we charged.

…

Thalia went straight for Luke. The power of her shield was so great that his dragon-women bodyguards fled in panic, dropping the golden coffin and leaving him alone. Luke must have grown courage against the Aegis since he first saw the carving of Medusa's head, because he snarled like a wild animal and counterattacked with his sword Backbiter. When the sword met Thalia's shield, a ball of lightning erupted between them, frying the air with yellow tendrils of power.

As for me, I was having troubles lifting my sword the moment I uncapped it and raised it against Atlas. All of the sudden, the sword I had since I was seven felt like it weighed a ton. I remember Ares saying that his curse would take affect soon.

 _Darn it Ares, you planned this the whole time!_ I thought.

Zoë started firing a volley of silver arrow at Atlas, hitting the armpit chink in his armor.

"ARGH!" He bellowed.

Since I couldn't capped Riptide by the tip, I capped it by the handle, causing it to transform into it's writing form and stuffed it in my pocket, this left me with my magical thermos, and against an immortal titan, I'll need more than that.

 _The Titan's Curse one must prevail_ , The oracle's words echoed in my head.

There was only one person who stands against a Titan, and right now I'm the only one who can free her.

I rushed over to the goddess of the hunt.

"The sky," I said, "Give it to me."

"No, boy," Artemis said. Her forehead beaded with metallic sweat, like quicksilver. "You don't know what you're asking. It will crush you!"

"It's not forever, just long enough to fool Atlas," I responded as I took out Riptide, uncapped it—which suddenly felt lighter since I'm not planning to challenge a Titan—and cut through the goddess' chains. Then I stepped next to her and braced myself on one knee—holding up my hands—and touched the cold, heavy clouds. For a moment, Artemis and I bore the weight together. It was the heaviest thing I'd ever felt, as if I were being crushed under a thousand trucks. I willed myself to stay conscious despite the pain.

Then Artemis slipped out from under the burden, and I held it alone.

Afterward, I tried many times to explain what it felt like. I couldn't.

Every muscle in my body turned to fire. My bones felt like they were melting. I wanted to scream, but I didn't have the strength to open my mouth. I began to sink, lower and lower to the ground, the sky weight crushing me.

 _Fight back!_ Grover's voice said inside my head. _Don't give up_.

I concentrated on breathing. If I could just keep the sky aloft a few seconds, just long enough for my friends to succeed.

My vision turned fuzzy. Everything was tinged with red. I caught glimpses of the battle, but I wasn't sure if I was seeing clearly. There was Atlas in full battle armor, jabbing with his javelin, laughing insanely as he fought. And Artemis, a blur of silver. She had two wicked hunting knives, each as long as her arm, and she slashed wildly at the Titan, dodging and leaping with unbelievable grace. She seemed to change form as she maneuvered. She was a tiger, a gazelle, a bear, a falcon. Zoë shot arrows at her father, aiming for the chinks in his armor. He roared in pain each time one found its mark, but they affected him like bee stings. He got madder and kept fighting.

Thalia and Luke went spear on sword, lightning still flashing around them. Thalia pressed Luke back with the aura of her shield. Despite how brave Luke tried to be, every once in a while he got a good look at the shield and retreated, wincing, and growling in frustration.

"Yield!" Thalia yelled. "You never could beat me, Luke."

He bared his teeth. "We'll see, my old friend."

Sweat poured down my face. My hands were slippery. My shoulders would've screamed with agony if they could. I felt like the vertebrate in my spine being welded together by a blowtorch.

Atlas advanced, pressing Artemis. She was fast, but his strength was unstoppable. His javelin slammed into the earth where Artemis had been a split second before a fissure opened in the rocks. He leaped over it and kept pursuing her. She was leading him back toward me.

 _Get ready,_ she spoke in my mind.

I couldn't respond back but I knew it was almost time.

"You fight well for a girl." Atlas laughed. "But you are no match for me."

He feinted with the tip of the javelin and Artemis dodged. I saw the trick coming. Atlas' javelin swept around and knocked Artemis' legs off the ground. She fell, and Atlas brought up his javelin tip for the kill.

"No!" Zoë screamed. She leaped between her father and Artemis and shot an arrow straight into the Titan's forehead, where it lodged like a unicorn's horn. Atlas bellowed in rage. He swept aside his daughter with the back of his hand, sending her fling into black rocks.

I wanted to shout her name, run to her aid, but I couldn't speak or move. I couldn't even see where Zoë landed. Then Atlas turned on Artemis with a look of triumph in his face. Artemis seemed to be wounded. She didn't get up.

"The first blood in a new war," Atlas gloated. And he stabbed downward.

As fast as thought, Artemis grabbed his javelin shaft. It hit the earth right next to her and she pulled backward, using the javelin like a lever, kicking the Titan Lord and sending him flying over her. I saw him coming down on top of me and I realized what would happen. I loosen my grip on the sky, and as Atlas slammed into me I didn't try to hold on. I let myself be pushed out of the way and rolled for all I was worth.

The weight of the sky dropped on Atlas' back, almost smashing him flat until he managed to get to his knees, struggling to get out from under the crushing weight of the sky. But it was too late.

 _"Noooooo!"_ he bellowed so hard it shook the mountain. _"Not again!"_

Atlas was trapped under his old burden.

I tried to stand and fell back again, dazed from pain. My body felt like it was burning up.

Thalia backed Luke to the edge of a cliff, but still they fought on, next to the golden coffin. Thalia had tears in her eyes. Luke had a bloody slash across his chest and his face glistened with sweat.

He lunged at Thalia and she slammed him with her shield. Luke's sword spun out of his hands and clattered to the rocks. Thalia put her spear point at his throat.

For a moment, there was silence.

"Well?" Luke asked. He tried to hide it, but I could hear fear in his voice.

Thalia trembled with fury.

In my daze, I realized Artemis was no longer with me. She had run off toward the black rocks where Zoë had fallen.

Behind her, Annabeth came scrambling, finally free from her bonds. Her face was bruised and streak with dirt. "Wait!"

"Do you want to betray me, or do you want please your dad by killing his traitor," Luke said.

Thalia hesitated, and Luke made a desperate grab for her spear.

"No!" Annabeth shouted. But it was too late. Without thinking, Thalia kicked Luke away. He lost balance, terror on his face, and then he fell.

"Luke!" Annabeth screamed.

I manage to lift myself and rushed over to the cliff with my friends. Below us, the army from the _Princess Andromeda_ had stopped in amazement. They were staring at Luke's broken form on the rocks. I couldn't stand to see it. I wanted to believe he was still alive, that there was still a chance to bring him back to our side. But the fall was fifty feet at least, and he wasn't moving.

One of the giants looked up and growled, "Kill them!"

Thalia was still stiff in grief, tears streaming down her cheeks. I pulled her back as a wave of javelins sailed over our heads. We ran for the rocks, ignoring the curses and threats of Atlas as we passed. I don't blame Thalia for what she did. She did it on impulse, a move most demigods would most likely do in her shoes. But right now we need to get out of there.

"Artemis!" I yelled.

The goddess looked up, her face was almost as grief stricken as Thalia's. Zoë lay in the goddess' arms. She was breathing. Her eyes were open. But still…

"The wound is poisoned," Artemis said.

I noticed the wound on Zoë's side. I almost forgotten her scrape with Ladon the dragon. The bite was much worse than Zoë let on. She was fighting against her father while the injury was sapping her energy.

"The stars," Zoë murmured. "I cannot see them."

I reached in my pockets hoping to find ambrosia and nectar only to forget I didn't bring any. All I had was riptide, Annabeth's cap of invisibility that I still need to return, Talos' control disc, and the mythomagic figurine of Hades. I still had my thermos strapped to my belt, but it doesn't summon nectar.

"We need to get her some nectar and ambrosia," I responded.

No one moved. Grief hung the air. The army of Kronos was just below the rise. Even Artemis was too shocked to stir. We might've met our doom there, but then I heard a strange buzzing noise.

Just as the army of monsters came over the hill, a Sopwith Camel swooped down out of the sky.

"Get away from my daughter!" Dr. Chase called down, and his machine guns burst to life, peppering the ground with bullet holes and startling the group of monsters into scattering.

"Dad?" yelled Annabeth in disbelief.

"Run!" he called back, his voice growing fainter as the biplane swooped by.

This shook Artemis out of her grief. She stared up at the antique plane, which was now banking around for another strafe.

"A brave man," Artemis said with grudging approval. "Come. We must get Zoë away from here."

She raised her hunting horn to her lips, and its clear sound echoed down the valleys of Marin. Zoë's eyes were fluttering.

"Hang in there!" I told her. "It'll be all right!"

The Sopwith Camel swooped down again. A few giants threw javelins and one flew straight between the wings of the plane, but the machine gun blazed. I realized with amazement that somehow Dr. Chase must've gotten hold of celestial bronze bullet—or at least somehow made them. The first row of snake women wailed as the machine gun's volley blew them into sulfurous yellow powder.

"That's… my dad!" Annabeth said amazement.

We didn't have time to admire his flying. The giants and snake women were already recovering from their surprise. Dr. Chase would be in trouble soon.

Just then, the moonlight brightened, and a silver chariot appeared from the sky, drawn by the most beautiful dear I had ever seen. It landed right next to us. I heard how the story of Santa Clause's sleigh came from Artemis' sleigh, but now that I seen it in person, I can truly believe it.

"Get it," Artemis said.

Annabeth helped me get Thalia on board. Then I helped Artemis with Zoë. We wrapped Zoë in a blanket as Artemis pulled the reins and the chariot sped away from the mountain, straight into the air.

Seeing us safely away, Dr. Chase turned his biplane and followed us like an honor guard.

Behind us, the army of Kronos roared in anger as they gathered on the summit of Mount Tamalpais, but the loudest sound was the voice of Atlas, bellowing curses against the gods as he struggled under the weight of the sky.


	18. The New Huntress Constellation is Formed

**A/N:** Certain ancient Greek names matches words use of foul language but no foul language was intentionally used. Also if you haven't read them yet read 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Early Adventures' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief' and 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters' before reading this story. Lastly, any one who wants to do a Demigods and Olympian reads story using 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon' is allowed _as long as_ you inform me about it.

* * *

 **The New Huntress Constellation is Formed**

We landed at Crissy Field after nightfall.

As soon as Dr. Chase stepped out of his Sopwith Camel, Annabeth ran to him and gave him a huge hug. "Dad! You flew… you shot… oh my gods! That was the most amazing thing I've ever seen!"

Her father blushed. "Well, not bad for a middle-aged mortal, I suppose."

"But the celestial bronze bullets! How did you _get_ those?"

"Ah, well. You did leave quite a few half-blood weapons in your room in Virginia, the last time you... left."

Annabeth looked down, embarrassed. I noticed Dr. Chase was very careful not to say _ran away_.

"I decided to try melting some down to make bullet casings," he continued. "Just a little experiment."

He said it like it was no deal, but he had a gleam in his eye. I could understand why Athena, Goddess of Crafts and Wisdom, had taken a liking to him. He was an excellent mad scientist at heart.

"Dad…" Annabeth faltered.

"Annabeth, Percy," Thalia interrupted. Her voice was urgent. She and Artemis were kneeling at Zoë's side, binding the hundress' wounds.

Annabeth and I ran over to help, but there wasn't much we could do. We had no ambrosia or nectar. No regular medicine would help. It was dark, but I could see that Zoë didn't look good. She was shivering, and the faint glow that usually hung around her was fading.

Artemis tried to set her hand on Zoë's side to heal her, but Zoë gripped her wrist. She looked into the goddess' eyes, and some kind of understanding passed between them.

"Have I… served thee well?" Zoë whispered.

"With great honor," Artemis said softly. "The finest of my attendants."

Zoë's face relaxed. "Rest. At last."

"I can try to heal the poison, my brave one."

But in that moment, I knew it wasn't just the poison that was killing her. It was her father's final blow. Zoë had known all along that the Oracle's prophecy was about her: she would die by a parent's hand. And yet she'd taken the quest anyway. She had chosen to save me, and Atlas' fury had broken her inside.

She saw Thalia, and took her hand.

"I'm sorry we argued," Zoë said. "We could have been sisters."

"It's my fault," Thalia said, blinking hard. "You were right about Luke."

"But I wasn't right about all men," Zoë murmured. She smiled weakly at me. "Do you still have the sword, Percy?"

I couldn't speak, but I brought out Riptdide and put the pen in her hand. She grasped it contentedly. "I'm glad to say you're nothing like Hercules, Percy Jackson, and I'm proud to say I'm glad I saved you from that bear years ago. You can keep this sword with the knowledge that when the time comes when the Campers need allies the most, the Hunters will come to their aid."

A shudder ran through Zoë's body.

"Zoë—" I said.

"Stars," she whispered. "I can see the stars again, my lady."

A tear trickled down Artemis' cheek. "Yes, brave one. They are beautiful tonight."

"Stars," Zoë repeated. Her eyes fixed on the night sky. And she did not move again.

Thalia lowered her head. Annabeth gulped down a sob, and her father put his hands on her shoulders. I watched as Artemis cupped her hand above Zoë's mouth and spoke a few words in Ancient Greek. A silvery wisp of smoke exhaled from Zoë's lips and was caught in the hand of the goddess. Zoë's body shimmered and disappeared.

Then, Artemis stood, and said a kind of blessing, breathed into her cupped hand and released the silver dust to the sky. It flew up, sparkling, and vanished.

For a moment, I didn't see anything different. Then Annabeth gasped. Looking up in the sky, I saw that the stars were brighter now. They made a pattern I had never noticed before—a gleaming constellation that looked a lot like a girl's figure—a girl with a bow running across the sky.

"Let the world honor your, my Huntress," Artemis said. "Live forever in the stars."

I smiled. Many demigods like to think the greatest honor they can get after death was to be rewarded Elysium and to be reincarnated, but not many realized that the greatest honor wasn't in the underworld, it was in the sky, where the stories of great Greek Heroes, Nature spirits, and beast were shown in the stars. Next to gaining immortality, it was one of the rarest gift a god and goddess will reward someone, and Zoë deserved it.

…

It wasn't easy saying good-byes. The thunder and lightning were still boiling over Mount Tamalpais in the north. Artemis was so upset she flickered with silver light. This made me nervous, because if she suddenly lost control and appeared in her fully divine form, we would disintegrate by looking at her.

"I must go to Olympus immediately," Artemis said. "I will not be able to take you, but I will send help."

The goddess set her hand on Annabeth's shoulder. "You are brave beyond measure, my girl. You will do what is right."

Then she looked quizzically at Thalia, as if she weren't sure what to make of this younger daughter of Zeus. Thalia seemed reluctant to look up, but something made her, and she held the goddess' eyes. I wasn't sure what passed between them, but Artemis gazed softened with Sympathy. Then she turned to me.

"You did well for a man," she said, "As for what Zoë said, I won't stop the Hunters to help Camp Half-Blood."

"Thank you, my lady," I responded, taking noticed that she called me a man for the first time and not a boy.

She mounted her chariot, which began to glow. We averted our eyes. There was a flash of silver, and the goddess was gone.

"Well," Dr. Chase sighed. "She was impressive; though I must say I still prefer Athena."

Annabeth turned toward him. "Dad, I… I'm sorry that—"

"Shh." He hugged her. Do what you must, my dear. I know this isn't easy for you."

His voice was a little shaky, but he gave Annabeth a brave smile.

Then I heard the whooshed of large wings. Three pegasi descended through the fog: two white winged horses and one pure black one.

"Blackjack!" I called.

 _Yo, boss!_ he called. _You manage to stay alive without me?_

"It was rough," I admitted.

 _I brought Guido and Porkpie with me_.

 _How ya doin?_ the other two pegasi spoke in my mind.

Blackjack looked me over with concern, then checked out Dr. Chase, Thalia, and Annabeth. _Any of these goons you want us to stampede?_

"Nah," I said aloud. "These are my friends. We need to get to Olympus pretty fast."

 _No problem,_ Blackjack said. _Except for the mortal over there. Hope he's not going._

I assured him Dr. Chase was not. The professor was staring openmouthed at the pegasi.

"Fascinating," he said. "Such maneuverability! How does the wingspan compensate for the weight of the horse's body, I wonder?"

Blackjack cocked his head. _Whaaaat?_

"Why, if the British had had these pegasi in the cavalry charges on the Crimea," Dr. Chase said, "the charge of the light brigade—"

"Dad!" Annabeth interrupted.

Dr. Chase blinked. He looked at his daughter and manage a smile. "I'm sorry, my dear. I know you must go."

He gave her one last awkward, well-meaning hug. As she turned to climb aboard the Pegasus Guido, Dr. Chase called. "Annabeth. I know… I know San Francisco is a dangerous place for you. But please remember you always have a home with us. We will keep you safe."

Annabeth didn't answer, but her eyes were red as she turned away. Dr. Chase started to say more, then apparently thought better of it. He raised his hand in a sad farewell and trudged away across the dark field.

Thalia and Annabeth and I mounted our pegasi. Together we soared over the bay and flew toward the eastern hills. Soon San Francisco was only a glittering crescent behind us, with an occasional flicker of lighting in the north.

Thalia was so exhausted she fell asleep on Porkpie's back. I knew she had to be really tired to sleep in the air, despite her fear of heights, but she didn't have much to worry about. The Pegasus flew with ease, adjusting himself every once in a while so Thalia stayed safely on his back.

Annabeth and I flew along side by side.

"So what are you going to do now? I mean about your dad's offer," I responded.

We flew over a town an island of lights in the middle of dark. It whisked by so fast we might've been in an airplane.

"I don't know," she admitted. "But thank you for rescuing me."

"Hey, no big deal. We're friends."

"You didn't believe I was dead?"

"Never."

She hesitated. "Neither is Luke, you know. I mean… he isn't dead."

I didn't want to argue so I nodded. But still something concerned me. Luke said Kronos had another plan incase Thalia didn't join—something that scared Luke. What kind of plan make even Luke scared of it?

The towns were zipping by faster now, islands of light thicker together, until the whole landscape below was glittering carpet. Dawn was close. The eastern sky was turning gray. And up ahead, a huge white-and yellow glow spread out before us—the lights of New York.

 _How's that for speedy, boss?_ Blackjack bragged. _We get extra hay for breakfast or what?_

"You're the pegasus, Blackjack," I told him.

"There it is," Thalia's voice; she'd woken up. She was pointing toward Manhattan, which was quickly zooming into view. "It's started.

High above the Empire State Building, Olympus was its own island of light, floating mountain ablaze with torches and braziers, white marble palaces gleaming in the early morning air. The winter solstice—the Council of the gods have began.


	19. Winter Solstice: The Council of the Gods

**A/N:** Certain ancient Greek names matches words use of foul language but no foul language was intentionally used. Also if you haven't read them yet read 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Early Adventures' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief' and 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters' before reading this story. Lastly, any one who wants to do a Demigods and Olympian reads story using 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon' is allowed _as long as_ you inform me about it.

* * *

 **Winter Solstice: The Council of the Gods**

If it haven't been for the fact this was my sixth winter solstice visit (I didn't attend a meeting two years ago), I would be worried about flying up to Zeus' palace with thunder and lightning swirling around it.

We circled around midtown Manhattan, making one complete orbit around Mount Olympus—the secred six hundredth floor of the Empire State Building that you can reach by elevator. I only been up there once before outside a winter solstice meeting two years ago to return Zeus' master bolt, and I have to say, Olympus looks more spectacular during the winter solstice than during the summer solstice.

In the early morning darkness, torches and fire made the mountainside palaces glow twenty different colors, from bloodred to indigo. Apparently no one ever slept on Olympus. The twisting streets were full of demigods and nature spirits and minor godlings bustling about, riding chariots or sedan chairs carried by Cyclopes. Winter didn't seem to exist here. I caught the scent of the gardens in full bloom, jasmine and roses even sweeter things here. I caught the scent of the gardens in full bloom, jasmine and roses and even sweeter things I couldn't name. Music drifted up from many windows, the soft sounds of lyres and reed pipes.

Towering at the peak of the mountain was the greatest palace of all, the glowing white hall of the gods.

Our pegasi set us down at in the outer courtyard, in front of huge silver gates. Before I could even think to knock, the gates opened by themselves.

 _Good luck, boss,_ Blackjack said, _Hey, if ya don't come back, can I have your cabin for my stable?_

I looked at the Pegasus.

 _Just a thought_ he said. _Sorry._

Blackjack and his friends flew off leaving Thalia, Annabeth, and me alone. For a minute we stood there regarding the palace, the way we'd stood together I front of Westover Hall, what seemed like ages ago. Then finally I sighed.

"Come on, Zeus is probably expecting us, and we shouldn't keep him waiting," I responded.

…

Twelve enormous thrones made a U around a central hearth, just like the placement of the cabins at camp. The ceiling above glittered with constellations—even the newest one, Zoë the Huntress, making her way across the heavens with her bow drawn.

All of the seats were occupied. Each god and goddess was about fifteen feet tall. I remember my first time in the winter solstice, how scared and nervous I was having all thirteen Olmypians (including Hades at the time), staring at me, but now I walked in keeping a calm expression.

Hades was there, no surprise. Zeus probably _forced_ him to come to explain about Bianca and possibly Nico. He normally stay non-vote member unless it was a tie or it involved something he agreed too, like killing me.

Speaking of Bianca, I also noticed she kneeling next to her father. She looked rather good, despite being forced into the underworld and out of the quest, but judging from her expression, she learned about Zoë.

"Welcome, heroes," Artemis said.

"Mooo!"

That's when I noticed Tauro and Grover.

A sphere of water was hovering in the center of the room, next to the hearth fire. Tauro was swimming happily around, swishing his serpent tail and poking his head out the sides and the bottom of the sphere. He seemed to be enjoying the novelty of swimming in a magic bottle.

Grover was also kneeling at Zeus's throne, as if he'd just been giving a report, but when he saw us, he cried, "You made it!"

He started to run toward me, then remembered he was turning his back on Zeus, and looked for permission.

"Go on," Zeus said. But he wasn't really paying attention to Grover. The lord of the sky was staring intently at Thalia.

Grover trotted over. None of the gods spoke. Every clop Grover's hooves echoed on the marble floor. Tauro splashed in the bubble of water. The hearth fire crackled.

I looked at my father, Poseidon. He was dressed almost the same way as usual way I seen him: beach shorts, a Hawaiian shirt, and sandals. He had a weathered, suntanned face with a dark beard and deep green eyes. I wasn't sure how he would feel about seeing me again, but the corners of his eyes crinkled with smile lines. He nodded as if to say _It's okay._

Grover gave Annabeth and Thalia big hugs. Then he grasped my arms. "Percy, Tauro and I made it! But you have to convince them! They can't do it!"

"Do what?" I asked.

"Heroes," Artemis called.

The goddess slid down from her throne and turned to human size, a young auburn-haired girl, perfectly at ease in the midst of the giant Olympians. She walked toward us, her silver robes shimmering. There was no emotion in her face. She seemed to walk in a column of moonlight.

"The Council has been informed of your deeds, and Bianca has filled us in about what she had done for Olympus," Artemis told us.

Hades grunted as if he didn't completely approve what his daughter did, but was proud of her actions.

"They know that Mount Othrys is rising in the West. They know of Atlas' attempt for freedom, and the gathering armies of Kronos. We have voted to act."

There was some mumbling and shuffling among the gods, as if they weren't all happy with this plan, but nobody protested.

"At my Lord Zeus' command," Artemis said. "my brother Apollo and I shall hunt the most dangerous and powerful monsters, seeking to strike them down before they can join the Titan's cause. Lord Hades has agreed to assist Lady Athena to personally check on the other Titans to make sure they do not escape their various prisons. Lord Poseidon has been given permission to unleashed his full fury on the cruise ship _Princess Andromeda_ and send it to the bottom of the sea. And as for you, my heroes…"

She turned to face the other immortals. "These half-bloods have done Olympus a great service. Including Bianca di Angelo, although her time on the quest was short, she did took part in this quest to quest and have assisted. Would any here deny that?"

She looked around at the assembled gods, meeting their faces individually. Zeus in his dark pin-striped suit, his black beard neatly trimmed, and his eyes sparking with energy. Next to him sat a beautiful woman with silver hair braided over one shoulder and a dress that shimmered colors like a peacock feathers. Lady Hera.

On Zeus' right, my father Poseidon. Next to him, a huge lump of a man with a leg in a brace, a misshapen head, and a wild brown beard, fire flickering through his whiskers. The Lord of Forges, Hephaestus.

Hermes winked at me. He was wearing a business suit today, checking messages on his caduceus mobile phone. Apolllo leaned back in his golden throne with his shades on. He had iPod headphones on, so I wasn't sure if he was listening, but he gave me a thumbs up. In a normal eye Dionysus looked bored, twirling a grape vine between his fingers, but he shot me a look reminding me of my oath of dept on the river of Styx. Then there was the Lord of the Dead himself Hades, who wasn't bored And Ares, well, he sat on his chrome-and-leather throne, glowering at me while he sharpened his knife.

On the ladies side of the throne room, a dark-haired goddess in green robes sat next to Hera on a throne woven of apple-tree branches. Demeter, Goddess of the Harvest. Next to her was Athena dressed in a white dress. Then there was Aphrodite, who smiled at me knowingly and made me blush in spite of myself.

All the Olympians in one place. So much power in the this room it always was a miracle the whole place didn't blow apart.

"I gotta say"—Apollo broke the silence—"These kids did okay, and I think most of us here can say Percy is starting to live up to my son's prediction rather nicely." He cleared his throat and began to recite: _"Heroes win laurels—"_

"Um, yes, first class," Hermes interrupted, like he was anxious to avoid Apollo's poetry. "All in favor of not disintegrating them?"

A few tentative hands went up—Demeter, Aphrodite included.

"Wait just a minute," Ares growled. He pointed at Thalia Bianca and me. "These three are dangerous. Not to mention Hades admitted having a son. It'd be safer while we've got them here—"

"Ares," Poseidon interrupted, "they are worthy heroes. We will not blast my son to bits."

"Nor my daughter," Zeus grumbled. "She has done well."

Thalia blushed. She studied the floor, not that I blame him.

Athena cleared her throat and sat forward. "I am proud of my daughter as well, and as much as I hate to admit that Percy has proven his Personal Loyalty is with Olympus as well, but there is still a security risk. Not only my father Zeus and my uncle Poseidon chose to break their vows to have no more children, but we learn that Hades has decided to bring his kids out in the open during a desperate time. As thickheaded as he is, Ares has a point."

"Right!" Ares said. "Hey, wait a minute. Who you callin'—"

He started to get up, but a grape vine grew around his waist like a seat belt and pulled him back down.

"Oh, please, Ares," Dionysus sighed. "Save the fighting for later."

Ares cursed and ripped away the vine. "You're one to talk, you old drunk. You seriously want to protect these runts?"

Dionysus gazed down at us wearily, mainly on me though. "I have no love for them, but Percy Jackson owes me a _favor_ and I planned to make _sure_ he pays his dues."

"What we do, the Council must decide."

"I will not have those with us punished, and to pay back Bianca for her duty, I suggest we keep an _eye_ on her brother to make sure he doesn't join Kronos before his sixteenth birthday. If he doesn't and he proven to be unlike his past sibling like his sister, we let him live, but if he's exactly like them and/or does join Kronos, we will act."

Hades seemed to like the idea, but he didn't say anything, which was kind of odd in my shoes. Does he know something we don't?

"Well," Zeus grumbled. "Perhaps. But the monster at least be destroyed. We have to agreement on that?"

A lot of nodding heads.

It took me a second to realize what they were saying. Then my heart turned to lead. "Tauro? You want to destroy Tauro?"

"Mooooooo!" Tauro protested.

My father frowned. "You have named the Ophiotaurus Tauro?"

"I have a better solution," I said not going into the detail of the name. "Keep him on Mount Olympus. Dad, you and Hephaestus can make the cage for him. If he's here, the Titans can't get to him. You can't control the prophecy, but you can at least keep him in the place the Olympians can keep an eye on him!"

I looked at Zeus right in the eyes. He seemed to be considering the idea. His eyes drifted to his daughter Thalia. "I'll consider keeping an eye on the Ophiotaurus, but there's still the risk of the prophecy. You, my daughter, will turn sixteen on the morrow, just as the prophecy says."

"I have a solution," Artemis said, "My faithful companion, Zoë Nightshade, has passed into the stars. I must have a new lieutenant. And I intend to choose one that will carry on Zoë's last wish. But first, Father Zeus, I must speak to you privately."

Zeus beckoned Artemis forward. He leaned down and listened as she spoke in his ear.

I frowned. I would think Artemis would want Annabeth and Bianca join, but that won't resolved the issue with Thalia unless she joined. Was Artemis considering of asking Thalia to join?

And then Artemis turned.

"I shall have a new lieutenant," she announced. "If she will accept it. Thalia, daughter of Zeus. Will you join the Hunt?"

Stunned silence filled the room. I stared at Thalia. Normally I would be worried, but this might be the best. Besides, if fate has it Thalia would see her brother again, I'm sure they will see each other. So, I smiled.

Annabeth smiled too. She squeezed Thalia's hand and let it go, as if she'd been expecting this all along too.

"I will," Thalia said.

"I'll join the hunt too," Bianca stood up.

Hades rose, "Bianca, I suggest you reconsidered—"

"Father, I may not remember my past, but ever since you summoned me to the underworld, I figured you been trying to make the decisions for Nico and me," Bianca responded. "But this time I want to make my own decision. I want to help carry on Zoë's last word."

Hades was too stun to respond—in fact, I'm pretty sure the whole throne room was caught off guard by Bianca's bold decision. I smiled. This could be a new era for Hades' children.

Bianca turned to Artemis. "Lady Artemis, if your offer still holds, I want to join the hunt under yours and Thalia's command."

Artemis smiled and nodded. "If it is your wish. Repeat these words, Thalia Grace and Bianca di Angelo. 'I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis. I turned my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the Hunt.'"

Bianca and Thalia both repeated the lines.

The flames in the heart brightened, casing a silver glow over the room.

"Welcome to the hunt," Artemis responded.

Then Thalia did something that surprised me. She came over to hug me, smiled and in front of the whole assembly, she gave me a big hug.

I blushed.

When she pulled away and gripped my shoulders. "That was a hug to my _other_ brother," Thalia explained.

"Thanks," I responded.

"Percy, you'll be the one of the prophecy and you'll make Hal's prediction come true while at it too, I know it," Thalia responded. "As for Jason—I might not be able to look for him, but if fate has it that I would see him again, then I'm sure I'll see him again."

I nodded.

"Percy, I'm leaving Nico in your care," Bianca said, "Make sure he doesn't betray Olympus."

Then Bianca leaned forward and whispered, "Children of Hades hold deep grudges."

I didn't know what she meant by that, but I nodded anyways.

"This boy is dangerous!" Ares warned.

"Do us a favor Ares and shut up. We all know the only reason you want Percy dead is because he beat you and made you confront Zeus for your actions two years ago," Hermes said.

There was a few snickers.

"Still, much can change in two years," Athena said. "I'm not saying the boy's loyalty won't falter, but if he doesn't watch his oaths, he might face a situation he can't handle himself."

I had a feeling what she meant. Although I normally don't go making oaths on the river of styx for the smallest things, I would admit that some of the oaths I made led to some life or death situations.

"All in favor to save the boy?" Athena asked.

To my surprise all but Ares' Athena's and Hades' went up, but judging from Hades and Athena's expression, they wanted to do the wait and see for now vote leaving Ares only wanting to destroy me. I didn't need to look at Dionysus to know his reason was because of my oath. Still, there was more to the majority vote than I have had before to keep me alive.

"We have majority," Zeus decreed. "And so, since we will not be destroying these heroes… I imagine we should honor them. Let the triumph celebration begin!"

…

If you haven't been to an Olympian party, you haven't lived.

The Nine Muses cranked up the tunes of music of whatever you want to be while the others listen to the songs of their choice.

Dionysus went around growing refreshment stands out of the ground and a beautiful woman walked with him in his arm—his wife Ariadne. Despite how mad Mr. D made me it always seemed great to see the God of Wine be happy for once.

Nectar and ambrosia overflowed from the golden fountains, and for us demigods platters of mortal snack food crowded the banquet tables. The golden goblets were just like the ones at the camp—filling itself with whatever you want. Grover trotted around with a full plate of tin cans and enchiladas, and his goblet was full of double-espresso latte, which he kept muttering over like incantation: "Pan! Pan!"

Gods kept coming over to congratulate me. Thankfully, they had reduced themselves to human size, so they didn't accidentally trample partygoers under their feet. Hermes started chatting with me, he was so cheerful, I didn't have the heart to tell him about Luke. Thankfully, Hermes got a call on his caduceus and walked away.

Apollo told me I could drive his sun chariot anytime, and I can pray to him any time I ever need to use a bow and arrow.

I made some excuses and wove through the crowds that were dancing in the palace courtyard. I was looking for Annabeth. Last I saw her, she'd been dancing with some minor godling.

Then a man's voice behind me said, "You won't let me down, I hope."

I turned and found Poseidon smiling at me.

"Dad, hi!" I responded.

"Hello, Percy. You've done well."

"Thanks dad, and I won't let you down," I responded.

He nodded. "Listen, Percy. Your friend, Luke. He's still lives. I have seen it. His boat sails from San Francisco with the remains of Kronos even now. He will retreat and regroup before assaulting you again. I will do my best to destroy his boat with storms but spare as many demigods as I can, but he is making alliances with my enemies, the older spirits of the ocean. They will fight to protect him."

"I guess Fates have other plans for him," I responded.

Poseidon nodded. "Be careful Percy. He is more dangerous than ever, and it will make it harder for you to convince him. Not to mention, the coffin is still with him, still growing in strength."

I wanted to say something, but just then, Tauro started mooing from across the courtyard. Some demigods were playing with his water sphere, joyously pushing it back and forth over the crowd.

"I'd better take care of that," Poseidon grumbled. "We can't have the Ophiotaurus tossed around like a beach ball. Be good, my son."

And just like that he was gone.

I was about to keep searching the crowd when another voice spoke. "I spoke the truth back there."

I found myself face to face with Athena. "Athena."

She smiled dryly. "At least you haven't judge me harshly, half-blood."

"That's because I get what you mean—The oaths of the styx I made on the river of styx, right?" I asked.

"That's right!" Athena said, "Although you have tried to control your fatal flaw, most of your most dangerous oaths you made through your personal loyalty, and Kronos will take advantage of that if you're not careful."

I nodded. "That reminds me—"

I reached into my pocket and took out Talos' control disc. Athena must of knew what I was thinking.

"Keep it for now son of Poseidon. I have a feeling you'll be needing it to protect the camp in the near future, if you plan to stay there," Athena said. "But know this, I never approved your friendship with my daughter, and if you do something that purposely puts her in harms way, you will meet my wrath."

She fixed me with her cold gray stare that she always gives me, the type that made me think I shouldn't go making enemies with her.

"Percy!" Annabeth said, running through the crowd. She stopped short when she saw who I was talking to. "Oh… Mom."

"I will leave you," Athena said. "For now."

She turned and strode through the crowds, which parted before her as if she was carrying Aegis.

…

"Was she giving you a hard time?" Annabeth asked.

"Nothing out of the ordinary," I replied, "It's fine."

Annabeth studied me with concern. She touched the new streak of gray in my hair that matched hers exactly—our painful souvenir from holding Atlas' burden.

The music started playing. People were dancing in the streets.

"You know, we never did finish that dance back at Westover," I responded.

She smiled slowly. "If you're up to it, Seaweed Brain."

So I took her hand, and I don't know what everybody else heard, but to me it sounded like a slow dance: a little sad, but maybe a little hopeful, too.


	20. Nico's Gone and I Need to Find Him

**A/N:** Certain ancient Greek names matches words use of foul language but no foul language was intentionally used. Also if you haven't read them yet read 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Early Adventures' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief' and 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters' before reading this story. Lastly, any one who wants to do a Demigods and Olympian reads story using 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon' is allowed _as long as_ you inform me about it.

* * *

 **Nico's Gone and I Need to Find Him**

Before I left Olympus, I decided to make a few calls. It wasn't easy, but I finally found a quiet fountain in a corner garden and sent an Iris-message to my brother, Tyson, under the sea. I told him about our adventures, and Tauro—he wanted to hear every detail about the cute baby cow serpent—and I assured him that Annabeth was safe. Finally I got around to explaining how the shield he'd made me last summer had been damaged in the manticore attack.

"Yay!" Tyson said. "That means it was good! It saved your life!"

"It sure did, big guy," I said. "But now it's ruined."

"Not ruined!" Tyson promised. "I will visit and fix it next summer. I have made two thousand seven hundred forty-one magic swords. The boss says if I keep this up every school year, he'll be happy to let me visit the camp every summer if I wanted him to do."

"That's great, Tyson," I responded.

We talked for a while about war preparations and our dad's fight with the old sea gods, and all the cool things we could do together next summer, but then Tyson's boss started yelling at him and he had to get back to work.

I dug out my last golden drachma and made one more Iris-message.

"Sally Jackson," I said. "Upper East Side, Manhattan."

The mist shimmered, and there was my mom at our kitchen table, laughing and holding hands with Paul.

I was about to cut the connections for both of our sake when my mom saw me.

Her eyes got wide. She let go of Paul's hand real quick. "Oh, Paul! You know what? I left my writing journal in the living room. Would you mind getting it for me?"

"Sure, Sally. No problem."

He left the room, and instantly my mom leaned toward the Iris-message. "Percy! Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, mom," I responded as I filled her in what happened.

She sighed with relief when she heard that Annabeth was safe, and was lad Thalia found a place where she can be happy.

"I knew you could do it," she said. "I'm so proud."

"Yeah, well, I'd better let you get back to your study date with Paul," I responded. "And mom, instead of picking me up at Olympus, can you pick me up at Camp Half-Blood. I need to check on Nico to make sure he feels at home there before I go home for the rest of the school year."

"Sure honey," mom replied.

"Sally?" Paul called from our living room. "You need the green binder or the red one?"

"I'd better go," she told me. See you for Chirstmas."

"I'll see you then," I smiled.

She waved her hand across the mist. Her image disappeared.

…

Compared to Mount Olympus, Manhattan was quiet. Friday before Christmas, but it was early in the morning and hardly anyone was on Fifth Avenue. Argus, the many-eyed security chief, picked Annabeth, Grover and me at the Empire State Building and ferried us back to camp through a light snow storm. The Long Island Expressway was almost deserted.

As we trudged back up Half-Blood Hill to the pine tree where the Golden Fleece glittered, I half expected Thalia to be there, waiting for us. But she wasn't. She was long gone with Artemis and the rest of the Hunters, off on their next adventure.

 _At least I know we can count on them to come to our aid when we need it,_ I thought remembering the last line of the prophecy about the alliances.

Chiron greeted us at the Big House with hot chocolate and toasted cheese sandwiches. Grover went off with his satyr friends to spread the word about our strange encounter with the magic of Pan. Within an hour, the satyrs were all running around agitated, asking where the nearest espresso bar was

Annabeth and I sat with Chiron and some of the other senior campers—Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard, and the Stoll brothers. Even Clarisse from Ares cabin was there, back from her secretive scouting mission. I knew she must've had a difficult quest, because she had a new scar on her chin, and her dirty blonde hair had been cut short and ragged, like someone had attacked it with a pair of safety scissors.

"I got new," she mumbled uneasily. _"Bad news."_

"I'll fil you in later," Chiron said with force cheerfulness. "The important thing is you have prevailed. And you saved Annabeth!"

Annabeth smiled at me gratefully, which made me look away.

For some strange reason, I found myself thinking about Hoover Dam, and the mortal girl I'd run into there. Rachel Elizabeth Dare. One of the reasons I was still alive was because of her, and I'd never ever explained to her who I was.

"Luke is alive," I said, "My dad confirmed it. Annabeth was right."

Annabeth sat up as I told her what my dad said about the _Princess Andromeda._

"Well," Annabeth shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "If the final battle does come when Percy is sixteen, or Nico"—for some reason the counsellors flinched at Nico's name—"at least we have two to four years to figure something out."

Chiron's expression was gloomy. Sitting by the fire in his wheelchair, he looked older than he usually looked.

"Two to four years seemed like a long time at the least," he said, "But it is the blink of an eye. I still hope you are not the child of prophecy, same goes to Nico. But if either of you are, then the second Titan war is almost upon us. Kronos first strike will be here since the gods need heroes. We must prepared. Clarisse's news may give us a clue to how they will attack, but we still don't know when they'll attack."

Everyone nodded to that. Chiron dismissed the meeting after a few more talks, but before I leave, he pulled me aside.

"Percy, I have bad news about Nico," Chiron said.

A jolt went down my back. "What happened?"

Chiron shook his head. "It happened so quickly—I'm not sure. It was a few days after Nico was claimed—well, I expected the campers to take the idea of a son of Hades in camp badly, but—there was an attack by some spacti."

"What?" I asked.

"Don't worry, Nico opened up a fissure and send them to Tartarus before they could do any harm," Chiron explained. "But I fear it has created some rumors, and by the next day Nico was gone."

"What do you mean gone?" I asked.

"I mean that most of his possessions and gear was missing and he was no where in camp," Chiron said, "I fear Kronos got his hands on him."

I remembered the look Hades had in the meeting, like he knew something the other gods didn't, now I realized he knew about Nico.

 _Children of Hades holds deep grudge,_ Bianca's warning echoed through my head.

Now I understand Bianca's warning. It was her's and Nico's fatal flaw—grudge.

"No," I said. "Hades took Bianca during the quest. He must have done the same thing with Nico, or something."

"Percy," Chiron said.

"I'm not letting Nico be the child of prophecy," I responded. "I'll bring Nico back, or at least keep him from joining Kronos, but I'm going to be the prophecy child."

Chiron looked at me with concern eyes. "Very well, Percy, but I hope you're right about Nico—for both of our sake."

Chiron dismissed me. As I left I took out the figurine of Hades. I gripped it tightly.

 _Hades, I hope your son is with you, otherwise, if I find him, I'll bring him back to camp,_ I thought.

* * *

 **A/N:** Well, I'm done with this story. Next story will answer some of the questions you might have about the whole Percy's first encounter with Daedalus and Mrs. O'Leary. By the way, due to limit of story title length there will be a change in the title of the next story.

Next Story...

 **The Tales of the Son Of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Magical Labyrinth**

Summary: Just what I need, to risk being expelled from another school before the school year starts due to monster attacks, and the Hellhound that pounced on me when I was 7 showing up at camp. Oh, and Camp Half-Blood is facing an invasion from Luke's army inside Daedalus Labyrinth that only someone who could see through the Mist or an Andrea's string or face the 2nd Titan War.


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